The Great Western Lakes: Ecology, Heritage and Management The Proceedings of a Conference held at the Castlebar Campus of the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology 25th – 27th June 2004 Edited by C.R. Huxley and K. Irvine 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE No. Preface 3 Acknowledgements 5 The Great Western Lakes : Ecology, Heritage and Management 6 The Biological Diveresity of the Great Western Lakes Region 15 The Archaeological Heritage (Abstract) 20 Holey Rocks and Holey Ghosts: The threatened karst of the Great Western Lakes 21 An Overview of Water Quality (Abstract) 28 Water Quality in the Great Western Lakes Catchments (Abstract) 29 History, nutrients and water quality: a study of the lakes and catchments of Loughs 30 Carra and Mask Lough Conn – The Fisheries Perspective 40 The Robe River – A Lowland River Case Study (Abstract) 49 Changing Agricultural Practices – County Mayo 51 Land Use Changes in the Lough Carra Catchment 56 The Importance of Angling Tourism to the Great Western Lakes 62 The Present and Potential Value of the Great Western Lakes : an Economic 67 Perspective (Abstract) Western Region Zebra Mussel Control Initiative 68 Lough Gill : A Case Study In Catchment Planning 73 Sustainable Forest Management – the Key to Restoring the Forest Resource 81 (Abstract) Public Participation in Protecting Heritage 82 The Role of NGOs (Abstract) 86 The Role of the Angling Community 87 Survey of Common Scoter Populations on Loughs Conn and Cullin, Co. Mayo (Poster 89 Abstract) The Biogeography and Conservation Biology of Spiranthes romanzoffiana (Cham) 90 (Poster Abstract) The Response of Lough Conn and Lough Mask, Two Irish Western Lakes, to Total 91 Phosphorus Loading, 1995-1999 (Poster Abstract) Ecological Assessment of the Western Lakes – Loughs Conn, Cullin, Carra, Mask and 92 Corrib (Poster Abstract) Wildfowl populations on Lough Carra – where have all the mallard gone? (Poster) 93 Using biodiversity indicators to identify conservation priorities – dragonflies and 96 butterflies in the Lough Carra cSAC (Poster) Inland nesting gulls – numbers in serious decline on Great Western Laeks (Poster 99 Abstract) Summary of Workshop Sessions 100 List of Participants 106 Outline of the Implementation of the Water Framework Directive in the Western 108 River Basin District 2 Preface A total of over 180 people attended the three-day conference on “The Great Western Lakes: Ecology, Heritage and Management” held on the Castlebar Campus of the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology between 25th and 27th June 2004. The conference was organised jointly by the Department of Heritage Studies, GMIT@Castlebar and the Centre for the Environment, Trinity College Dublin. The Great Western Lakes and their catchments form a major component of our regional and national heritage and serious concern over their ecological well-being has been mounting over recent years. The main motivation for this conference was a desire to raise awareness of the value and importance of the lakes, as well as recognition of the pressures on them and the need to ensure their protection and sustainable use. The conference programme was devised so that the first two days would provide information and background on as great a variety of aspects of the lakes’ status as possible. A wide range of expert speakers was assembled to this end, with the objective of providing a broad, up to date picture of the state of knowledge of the lakes and their catchments and the heritage they represent. The second part of the conference, on the third day, consisted of open forum discussion sessions. The objective was to provide an opportunity for everyone to exchange their views and suggest ideas for management and protection options for the future. It was hoped that the final day’s sessions would lead to some form of broad consensus as to what needs to be done and how it should be done in order to maximise and sustain the long-term value of this part of our heritage. Poster presentations augmented the technical input to the conference and added to the body of information available to support the decisions of options for the future. In order to encourage people to think more widely about the issues, and to celebrate the region’s heritage, an evening arts event was also organised, with an exhibition of relevant paintings, poetry reading and music. It was the hope and expectation of the conference organisers that this volume of proceedings would include the full text of papers summarising the presentations. This has not been possible, but we have endeavoured to provide an abstract in place of full text when the latter has not been available. This will, at least, provide a flavour of what was presented. The final chapter of these proceedings consists of a summary of the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) in the region. This has been included as an addendum in order to provide information on the mechanisms envisaged to be established under the WFD that are expected to address some of the issues identified during the course of the Conference. 3 After two days of presentations, at the workshop discussions that followed, the Conference delegates agreed an overall concluding statement. This was: Ø The Conference underlined the unique nature of the Lakes and their local, national and international, importance. Ø The Conference recognised the strong evidence confirming the ongoing degradation of the Great Western Lakes and expressed grave concern over this continued deterioration. Ø The Conference concluded that there was an urgent need to prevent further deterioration of the lakes and to institute effective measures for their restoration and protection. Ø The Conference agreed that there is a high priority to establish a mechanism in order to ensure that the need for immediate action is pursued as soon as possible. The concluding statement provides the clear sentiment of a consensus of the value of these nationally and internationally important water bodies. That sentiment and desire to implement measures to protect the lakes and their heritage requires two essential components. The first is that under the new European Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) an effective and immediate programme of measures will be introduced. The second, and of perhaps much greater importance, is an acceptance at local, regional and national level that these lakes provide a unique heritage for Ireland. With that acceptance will come local and national political will and the courage to tackle effectively the threats to the lakes and their ecosystems. Without that will, the Conference would have provided a pleasant weekend of science and culture, but little more. Chris Huxley Ken Irvine 4 Acknowledgements We are most grateful to the Heritage Council, Mayo County Council, the Western Regional Fisheries Board and the North Western Regional Fisheries Board for their financial contributions to the cost of the Conference. In addition, funds and contributions in kind for the Reception and Arts Event were generously supplied by Pat Jennings of the TF Royal Hotel and Theatre, Paddy McGuiness of Albany Home Decor Specialists, Maria Farrell of the Linenhall Arts Centre, Frank Duffy of Mangans Cash & Carry and Owen Rowley of Roadstone Provinces Ltd. Many of the staff and students of GMIT@Castlebar volunteered to assist in preparing for and running the Conference and we are very grateful to them for their willing support and tireless efforts. The organising committee included, aside from Chris Huxley and Ken Irvine, Beatrice Kelly of the Heritage Council, Deirdre Cunningham of Mayo County Council, Martin McGarrigle of the EPA and Greg Forde of the Western Regional Fisheries Board. We thank them for their work and support. The success of the final day of the Conference was in no small part because of the commitment and professionalism of Carol Conway from “Common Purpose” and her team of facilitators who managed the often robust debates of the break-out groups. Finally, our sincere thanks go to Fiona Kennedy who worked efficiently and tirelessly and with great good humour throughout the preparations for the Conference, the organisation during the Conference and the compilation of this volume. 5 1. The Great Western Lakes: Ecology, Heritage and Management David Cabot INTRODUCTION First of all I would like to say a few words about the ecological diversity and the ecological importance of the Western Great Lakes (GWLs) and associated ecosystems but I will not go into great detail; this will come from the various experts over the next few days. We also need to address how we can best manage this complex melange of biodiversity so I will make a few points concerning this issue. Finally, I would like to raise a few issues as to how we might best move forward and implement a scheme to protect and enhance the great biodiversity of this region. I would like to thank Denis Strong, Regional Manager, National Parks and Wildlife Service for assistance with the information contained in the various tables that follow. 1. ECOLOGICAL DIVERSITY AND ECOLOGICAL IMPORTANCE OF THE GWLS AND ASSOCIATED ECOSYSTEMS. The family of the GWLs – Conn, Cullin, Carra, Mask and Corrib – are of immense ecological importance. Their value extends much further than their fame as harbouring some of the best natural wild fish populations in Ireland, possibly in north-western Europe. Their limestone geological legacy, shallow waters and a historic tradition of pastoral agriculture in their hinterlands have allowed the development of a remarkable and diverse system of habitats ranging from hard water lakes, shallow water beds of stoneworts, large reed swamps, active raised bog, limestone pavement, bog woodland, orchid rich calcareous grassland, broad-leaved deciduous woodlands, to alkaline fens, etc., many of which are classified as priority habitats under the EU Habitats Directive. There are legal obligations under the Directive for the State to protect these habitats as candidate sites of Special Areas of Conservation (cSACs), proposed to the European Commission.