4 October 2006

Circular No. 10/06

To each R.I./A.S./D.S./AES Inspector & all Planning Agencies

Rural Environment Protection Scheme (REPS)

Re: Owenduff Nephinbeg Special Protection Area (SPA). Site Code: 4098.

As a result of the review of the Framework Plans in the Owneduff Nephinbeg Special Protection Area additional actions are now required to be put in place for all sheep farmers, including REPS participants, on the SPA.

Following this review the National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government have notified all farmers in the complex that they must:

  • farm to an agreed Agri/environmental plan be it REPS or the NPWS Farm Plan Scheme.
  • Implement full destocking as set out in the Framework Plans for the SPA.
  • Remove from the SPA all sheep from 1st November to 31st December and from 14th February to 13th May inclusive, each year.

In order to comply with these new farming conditions it will be necessary for REPS participants to have their plans amended to reflect these changes. As the objective of removing the sheep is to allow for recovery of the vegetation on the SPA it is critical that when sheep are returned for summer grazing, sustainable stocking levels are planned. Guidance for sustainable summer grazing is provided in

Annex I. These additional conditions will form part of cross compliance requirements

To assist in having REPS plans amended form “Nephin 1.” cf. copy at Annex II attached must be completed and submitted to the local AES office before 1st November 2006. A copy should be retained by the farmer as part of his REPS plan.

REPS farmers will be compensated separately by the National Parks and Wildlife Service for actions now necessary over and above the original Framework Plan requirements. Applications for payment should be made directly to:

Site Protection Unit, National Parks and Wildlife Service, 7 Ely Place, Dublin 2.

Attached at Annex III please find NPWS Payment Application Form.

Any queries in relation to this payment should be directed to NPWS.

______

Gerry Rice John Muldowney

Agricultural Structures Division AES Division

Annex I

Sustainable Summer Grazing regime for the Owenduff Commonage Complex.

For undamaged target areas, appropriate maximum ewe equivalents per hectare are suggested:

undamaged blanket bogs: should never exceed 1 ewe/ha/annum and generally should not exceed 0.5ewes/ha/annum in wetter areas.

undamaged wet heath and dry heaths: should never exceed 1.5 ewes/ha/annum and may need to be considerably less e.g. depending on heather cover and form.

undamaged grasslands: should never exceed 5ewes/ha/annum in prime quality Agrostis/Festuca swards.

In the case of commonages the stock carrying capacity should only relate to the owned area of commonage and not the Commonage Plan area. The carrying capacity of this owned area of commonage must reflect the habitat(s) type(s) present. In most cases one will encounter mixtures of the above habitat types in the Commonage Plan and the planned carrying capacity must reflect the proportion of the various habitats in the owned area of the Commonage.

For damaged commonages and non-commonage target areas, the planer should calculate the stock carrying potential or capacity by applying the damage rating to the habitat potential in the owned area. For example in a blanket bog Commonage Plan, assuming a stock carrying capacity of 1ewe/ha/annum (7kgN/ha in an undamaged scenario) and a damage rating of 50% (in the owned area, if commonage), the maximum stock carrying capacity expressed in kg N/ha should not exceed 0.5ewes/ha/annum or 3.5kgsN/ha/annum. The habitat type and damage rating in commonages is determined from the relevant subunits in the owned area of the Commonage map.

Annex IIForm Nephin 1

/ A Measure included in the CAP Rural Development Plan, co-funded under the National Development Plan 2000 – 2006 and the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund of the European Union. /

Applicants’ Name ______

Address ______

______

______

______

Herd No. REPS No. PPSN

DECLARATION:

I/We agree to continue to farm my/our existing Agri-environmental plan as commenced on ___/____/______.

I/We agree to comply with the additional requirements set out in this amendment (see overleaf).

Signed (Participant)______Date______

Signed (Partner (s) ______Date______

To be signed by the participant’s REPS Planner & Environmentalist

We certify that the REPS amendment set out herein conforms to the requirements laid down for the protection of the Owenduff /Nephinbeg SPA Complex.

Signed ______REPS Planner ______Date ______

Signed ______Environmentalist______Date ______

Please note that failure to abide by the terms and conditions of the Scheme may result in your disqualification from the Scheme and reimbursement of all or part of any aid paid.

Measure A Conservation of Natural Heritage

Section I

Measure A designation(tick relevant box)CommonageNon-Commonage target area

List the plot/sub-plot numbers (Field numbers) of non-commonage designated areas and in the case of commonage list the management unit code(s) / Plot No(s) / Site Code / Site Name / M.U (if applicable)
General site description and current land use
Dominant Habitat Type
Condition of the Vegetation
Conservation Objectives for Measure A Areas
Annual Grazing Regime to achieve objectives
State commonage stocking rates and
periods of grazing clearly; also state
clearly how ewes are overwintered
Other Conservation/ restoration measures (specify yearly timescale)

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Section II

Establish ewe equivalent as follows: /
Ewe Equivalents
- Ewe quota in 2001 (including any frozen quota)
- Cattle Livestock Units in 2001,
- Other Grazing Livestock, Livestock Units X 6.7
TOTAL / (A)

Establish Forage Area Farmed in 2001:

/ Area (ha)
- ha of non-commonage lands
Of which Target area
- ha owned commonage of which
ha in Commonage 1
ha in Commonage 2
ha in Commonage 3
ha in Commonage 4
TOTAL / (B)
  1. Stocking density Ewe equivalents per ha

A from Step 1 = ______= ______©

B from Step 2

  1. Alternative option for stocking density (cattle not grazing commonage)

Ewe quota from step 1=______= ______( C )

B from step 2

The PPP will apply if (c ) is greater than 5.0 and destocking percentage is 20% or greater

Establish stock reductions for each commonage:

/
Reduction

-Stock Reductions specified in Target area Environmental Report

- Stock Reductions specified in Commonage 1
- Stock Reductions specified in Commonage 2
- Stock Reductions specified in Commonage 3
- Stock Reductions specified in Commonage 4
Calculate Reductions in Ewes as follows:
Calculations
Reductions in Target area /
=
Reductions for excess over 5.0 S.R or PPP, Commonage 1, 2, 3 & 4 / =
Further reductions due to prescription in Commonage 1 / =
Further reductions due to prescription in Commonage 2 / =
Further reductions due to prescription in Commonage 3 / =
Further reductions due to prescription in Commonage 4 / =
Total Reduction in ewes required
Total Ewe quota allowed
Maximum Ewe equivalents of Other Livestock allowed on Farm
Maximum Ewe numbers to be grazed on commonage

Stocking density shall not increase above the levels set out at C

eREPS format of page 10 of the plan can also be used

Annex: III

Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government

National Parks and Wildlife Service,

7 Ely Place, Dublin 2

Phone 01-8883257

OWENDUFF NEPHINBEG SPECIAL PROTECTION AREA

SHEEP OFF-WINTERING SCHEME.

NPWS PAYMENT APPLICATION FORM FOR REPS PARTICIPANTS

Name of Applicant:
(BLOCK CAPITALS)
Name(s) of other partners, where applicable:
Address:
Telephone No: / E-mail: / PPS No: / Date of Birth:
Herd No: / REPS No:

Declaration

I/We continue to farm sheep on lands in the Owenduff/Nephin SPA complex, site code 004098, as part of an Agri-environmental plan.

  • I/We observe the conditions of the REP Scheme and the additional conditions applying to the management of sheep flocks on the Owenduff/Nephin Special Protection Area from 1 November 2006.
  • I/We wish to confirm that I/We actively overwintered ______ewes in an environmentally sensitive manner and hereby make application for my/our supplementary NPWS payment for the period ending 13 May 200__.
  • I/we hereby confirm that all of the information given in this application is true, accurate and complete.

Applicants Signature(s)

______Date ______

______Date ______

Completed Application Forms should be submitted to Site Protection Unit, National Parks and Wildlife Service, 7 Ely Place, Dublin 2

Payment

On confirmation by NPWS ground staff that the plan is being complied with, payment will issue as follows:

  • €1,000 after the end of first phase of off-wintering, i.e. November – December
  • €1,000 after the end of second phase of off-wintering, i.e. - 14th Feb to 13th May inclusive.

Payment will only be paid in all cases for full off-wintering over the 5 month closed period and is conditional on the sheep being maintained over this period. Applicants may submit a claim form at the end of the November to December off-wintering period. A subsequent application for payment should besubmitted on an annual basis prior to the 1st Nov each year while the payment is available.

Copies of the application form are available from Site Protection Unit, National Parks and Wildlife Service, 7 Ely Place, Dublin 2., Phone no. 01-8883257.

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