Hungry squirrels in Merlin Woods may chomp up to €60,000 of specially selected nuts, paid for by tax payers in an emergency feeding programme due to last up to ten years.
The Galway City Council’s biodiversity team is installing one hopper of nuts per hectare of forest its contractors began clear-felling this week, as part of a controversial plan to rejuvenate the city’s largest urban woodlands after sections were devastated by Storm Éowyn last winter.
A spokeswoman for City Hall said the University of Galway’s Zoology Department is advising on “the most appropriate mix of nuts suitable for the feeding programme,” calculated to cost in the region of €6,000 per year.
Last week, senior officials told councillors at their monthly meeting that the feeding scheme will last from eight to ten years.
“This may change over time as the programme is established, and we understand the demand better. The programme will be monitored and adjusted accordingly, under the direction of expert advice from the University,” said the spokeswoman.
With the council’s 2027 budget up for ratification by councillors in October, City Hall has confirmed its officials will not seek approval for additional funding for next year’s red squirrel sustenance scheme, meaning that it will be paid for by Galway city council’s own revenue stream.
The red squirrel sciurus vulgaris is a species thought to be native to Ireland since before the last Ice Age. It was made almost completely extinct during deforestation in the seventeenth century, but was revived due to localised reintroductions throughout the nineteenth century. Experts note it thrives in mixed tree environments, rather than in single tree seed areas of monoculture woodland.
Over the past twenty years, Irish red squirrel numbers have increased in 29 counties, after a revitalised population of the carnivorous pine marten has feasted on non-native grey squirrels which compete with reds for resources.
It is unclear how many red squirrels live in Merlin Woods, and the council’s parks officials have admitted they are equally in the dark about the herbivorous rodents.
According to the most recent All-Ireland Squirrel and Pine Marten Survey Report of 2019, there are no grey squirrels recorded in Connacht, with the River Shannon thought to act as a barrier to migration. The National Biodiversity Data Centre estimates up to 114 red squirrels per hectad (10km by 10km ) in a section of County Galway which includes Merlin Woods.
Clearfelling of 15.41 hectares (38 acres ) of Merlin Woods by Wicklow-based contractor Euroforest began this week. This equates to 46 per cent of the wooded area, with large swathes of 50-year-old commercial spruce plantation set for the chop.
Subject to grants from the Department of Agriculture, widescale replanting of mostly oak, ash and especially fast-growing hazel - favoured by red squirrels - is due to commence in autumn 2027.
Gardaí were observed visiting a cordoned off area in the north woods on Sunday after the City Council made complaints of criminal damage. This damage is understood to affect fenced-off areas deemed of ecological importance which are not to be disturbed during the felling programme.
In a statement, the city council said it was introducing 24 hour security to the site. Euroforest has erected solar-powered CCTV cameras in the woods to deter trespassing in its area of operations.
