The battle to save the last remaining significant grouping of old oak trees in Dartrey Forest gathered pace on Sunday evening last when over eighty local people braved the icy weather to gather at the 13-acre native woodland site and record their objections to Coillte’s plans to fell a number of the trees.

    The significance of the demonstration was underlined by the presence of international environmentalist Sem Karoba, from West Papua on the Pacific island of New Guinea. Karoba, who has fought tirelessly for the preservation of the natural rain forest in his native country, led the gathering in placing stones and branches at the foot of one of the threatened 200-year-old oaks to mark their total opposition to cutting the trees.
    All who attended signed a petition against the Coillte plan, and a wider petition in the surrounding areas is currently attracting hundreds of additional signatures.
    Mr Karoba said it was great to see so many people in attendance out of respect for the forest. He had expected to see only ten or so people turn up, but the large gathering made him confident that local people could succeed in preventing any Dartrey Oaks being cut. As well as a political campaigner, Karoba is a singer/songwriter, and he delighted the gathering with a number of songs in his native tongue before the event concluded with the stone laying ceremony.

Agreement
     While agreeing with Coillte that the area should be made more accessible as a public amenity, those opposed to the plans do not believe that any of the trees, which they consider part of the natural heritage, should be cut down in order finance the improvements.

Manage
     Coillte have stated that their objective is to "manage and enhance" the area in question, and they claim that removing some of the trees would allow space for new oaks to be planted. The objectors, however, argue that there is ample room in the vast Dartrey Estate for planting new trees. They say the trees already in position should all be left as they are.

Cootehill meeting
     The committee will be seeking to consolidate growing support for the campaign at a public meeting to be held in the White Horse Hotel tonight, Thursday 9th. It is also hoped that another meeting with representatives of Coillte can arranged to take place inside the next week.

The 13-acre canopy of Irish oak trees, situated on the shores of the Inner Lough, is the only remaining area of native woodlands in the 1,500-acre Dartrey Forest, most of which is now planted with quick-growing, imported evergreen trees. Fifteen years ago a previous campaign by a small group of locals had succeeded in preventing tree cutting in the same stand of oaks. The natural lifespan of these trees is believed to be about 900 years — so the 200-year-old specimens in Dartrey are still relatively youthful!
    The road into the site was cleared during Christmas week, despite assurances from Coillte.
    Concerns on the issue have also led to the formation of a "Dartrey Oaks ‘Last Line of Defence’ Committee", which has set up an information website at www.dartry.org . The committee intends to lodge objections to the Coillte plans with authorities at both local and national level. Coillte is believed to have been licensed to cut 15 of the oaks this year, and 70 over a longer time period stated that an ongoing process of consultation with local people would be completed before any trees were cut.

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