Following onsite visits by Scottish Forestry inspectors in October, CCDT has on 1st November 2021 received a Scottish Plant Health Notice (SPHN) from Scottish Forestry.
This was after an aerial survey which detected possible infection of phytophthora ramorum within our woodland – earlier post https://ccdt.org.uk/scottish-forestry-tree-health-inspection/ can be read if this is the first update you’ve come across.
This is disappointing to have confirmed within our woodland and to have this legal SPHN imposed on us however this is not a unique situation in our larch. https://forestry.gov.scot/publications/1028-p-ramorum-outbreak-update-map-12-july-2021/viewdocument/1028 This link is a map from earlier this year which is documenting the outbreak sites.
Although not all larch trees are infected the notice orders us to fell all larch within a radius from the trees found to be infected.
The maps below show the red outline as being the area covered within the SPHN and all larch within that will legally have to be felled by 28th February 2022.
The SPHN measures 21.37ha and the larch content is being estimated as 33% within that at the moment. Our priority now is to confirm the actual larch content and make a plan of action for this felling. We appreciate that the community will share our frustration and disappointment on this and we will endeavor to keep you all updated each step of the way as we know the facts ourselves. There are available grants from Scottish Forestry to assist with the restocking and hope that our community can plan an active part in our discussions for restocking and how we create a more diverse woodland for the community and wildlife of Gillies Hill Community Woodland.
If there are any immediate questions please do email us at woodland@ccdt.org.uk
For more information on the disease itself please do refer to this information from Scottish Forestry.
https://forestry.gov.scot/sustainable-forestry/tree-health/tree-pests-and-diseases/phytophthora-ramorum At the bottom of this webpage there are interesting documents to read more about Scottish Forestry’s Action Plan and FAQ’s around their management plan.
CCDT will create a FAQ page which will give more detail on our approach and what the financial and operational actions will be. This will be done when more information is known.
