The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is currently inviting tenders for a range of specialist services for conservation of the proposed Boora Farmland Birds Nature Reserve.
The project includes a core area of approximately 600ac in the townlands of Leabeg and Boora, Co. Offaly.
This core area is on cutaway bog, which prior to 2006 was a former industrial peat milling complex.
In the intervening years, much of the land has either been recolonised with natural/semi-natural vegetation, or been cultivated and sown with various crops and semi-permanent species-rich seed mixes.
Nature reserve
In October, then Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan announced his intention to designate the State lands as a new nature reserve.
He explained that the 600ac site is the location chosen by one of Ireland’s rarest native breeding farmland birds, the grey partridge.
He added that the NPWS management regime at the site has resulted in “associated benefits” for other declining or threatened farmland bird species for both breeding and wintering, making it an “ideal site” for a nature reserve.
The NPWS has divided the tender for specialist services relating to conservation management at the proposed reserve into three lots, as follows:
- Lot 1: Game-keeping services (Species protection, management, and predation reduction/predator control; captive bird breeding, and appropriate release)
- Lot 2: Agricultural and crops advice services;
- Lot 3: Agricultural operations services.
The tender documents note that the Bord na Móna lands which lie adjacent to the project site do not form part of the core area.
In addition to the NPWS land, approximately 1,400ac of privately owned ground in the surrounding lands may hold grey partridge.
The NPWS said that specialist services, particularly in relation to predation reduction, is expected to be provided over this adjoining land – subject to private landowner permission – by the successful service provider.
In all, around 300-350ac of NPWS land are actively managed, tilled or sowed with a variety of crops for biodiversity.
This is to primarily to help grey partridge breeding and brood rearing, and winter cover requirements. Other areas are managed as wader (mostly lapwing) breeding areas.
NPWS
The tender documents show that the agricultural and crops advice services provider will be required to devise and implement an annual cropping plan.
While the agricultural operations services will carry out cultivation, establishment, maintenance, and harvest as necessary, of agricultural crops for nature conservation purposes, and natural/semi-natural habitats.
The NPWS said that successful tenderers should be available to commence this work on the ground on March 1, 2025.
Contractors will also be required to help in the production of an annual report on the Boora Farmland Birds Nature Reserve for 2025.
The NPWS is inviting tenderers to view its premises and facilities at the proposed nature reserve on Tuesday, January 7.
The NPWS noted that this site visit is mandatory and if a tenderer does not attend the site visit, they will be eliminated from the selection process.
The four-year contract has a value of €600,000, excluding VAT, with a closing date for the submission of tenders falling on January 31, 2025.