New forestry company to tackle ash dieback problem

JLR, the Canadian forestry company which came to Ireland in the aftermath of Storm Éowyn, has turned its attention to the country’s ash dieback problem.

CEO of LJR Forestry, Lee Johnston, says while Irish people have had their eye on the proverbial blowdown ball, no one has been considering the thousands of hectares of diseased ash trees, which are at risk of falling and rotting in the months and years ahead.

Lee says he has a plan, which will make profit for landowners and revive Ireland’s ash population with a grand re-planting scheme, also undertaken by LJR and its partner, TreeGlobal.

“The ash dieback crisis has been going on for three to four years now and it’s getting close to the time that the infected ash trees are almost not worth removing,” Lee told the Celt.

“We’re going to remove everything and salvage it all with a large percentage of it being turned into biomass fuel.”

LJR is currently in negotiations with Bórd na Mona to supply the energy company with its biomass requirements because, at present, the indigenous company has to import wood products from Brazil and Africa to meet its demand.

Lee Johnston estimates there are 10,000 hectares, or one million cubic metres of ash tree wood in Ireland, which can be cleared off land and processed into biomass product.

“When that is cleared, the land then needs to be re-planted,” Lee points out, “otherwise it is just dead land, not growing crops and nobody is making any money out of it.”

And the re-planting system Lee intends using is the continuous cover forestry (CCF) model, which, according to Teagasc, is “suitable to both conifers and broadleaves and allows for the production of commercial timber while retaining a forest cover at all times".

On suitable sites, CCF systems offer a possible alternative to the widely practiced clearfell/replant system, which sees trees harvested all at once at the end of the rotation. This is then followed by one replanting operation.

LJR intends to replace some of the ash trees they remove with a genetically-modified version that will be resilient to dieback and better suited to Ireland’s climate and conditions.

“Again, turning a crisis into something positive,” Lee Johnston suggests. “I will clear away the dead wood, turn it into something which can be utilised and that will make profits for farmers on the way. Then, I will re-plant dead land to make future profits for Irish landowners.”

LJR brings much expertise in this area as it has it has worked in many countries across the globe bringing stability to crop-growing.

“We planted GM cocoa for farmers in Ghana who prior to that had to rely on the yield from government-issued trees that took three years to deliver its first harvest,” he explains. “We will be using GM seedlings that are appropriate for Ireland.”

So far, Lee says the feedback his company’s entry into the Irish forestry market has been positively received by farmers.

“The diseased ash is an eyesore, it’s dangerous and farmers can’t wait to get it cleaned up,” he says.

“We’ve already cleared hundreds of hectares without really trying and we’re here to stay. All farmers need to do now is work together, form consortiums in their respective area and we will do the rest.

“LJR can provide a complete forestry service to Irish landowners,” assures Lee.