Chainsaws will buzz at Yr Wyddfa forest as deadly tree disease strikes

A woodland in the lee of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) is to be part-felled at the height of the tourism season. Trees at Cwellyn forest are to be chainsawed to prevent the spread of Phytophthora ramorum, commonly known as larch disease.

A number of larch trees have become infected by the mould which, if left unchecked, could devastate the rest of the forest. Felling operations will begin on Monday, July 10, and are expected to last up to six weeks.

The commercial soft-wood forest lies on the lower slopes of Moel Eilio adjacent to the Llyn Cwellyn reservoir. On the opposite bank is the Snowdon Ranger car park, which marks the start of one of the six main routes up Yr Wyddfa[1].

Felling will be overseen by Natural Resources Wales[3] (NRW) and will focus on southern areas of Cwellyn forest, near Rhyd-Ddu. A total of 1.5ha (3.7 acres) are being cleared.

As several walking routes run through the forest, signs will be installed but NRW has warned there will be “some temporary disruption” to allow the felling to take place safely. Forest visitors are being asked to take precautions by keeping to marked paths, observe all site signage and to keep dogs on a lead.

The diseased trees lie at the southern end of the forest near Rhyd-Ddu in Eryri The diseased trees lie at the southern end of the forest near Rhyd-Ddu in Eryri

Kath McNulty, NRW’s team leader for forest[4] operations in north west Wales, said residential access will remain open at all times but may be subject to short delays while timber lorries are loading. She added: “The work has been planned to ensure native trees will remain in the landscape and the remainder of the forest will be unaffected by the planned operations.

“After the felling has taken place, the areas will be left so broadleaf tree species can self-seed and establish further. This will eventually help biodiversity to flourish by providing a more varied structure, such as different ages and species of trees.

“To reduce initial disturbance to wildlife[5], the areas to be felled have been surveyed by our ecologists and no issues have been found. We would like to thank members of the local community for their co-operation and understanding.”

The felling follows the issuing of a Statutory Plant Health Notice, and is being carried out by SJF Timber contractors. Commercial logging in the forest stopped some years ago to prevent Llyn Cwellyn[6] being polluted by silt. The old name for the lake is Llyn Tarddeni[7].

  • For further details, contact the forest operations team on 0300 0653000. Alternatively, you can email [email protected].

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References

  1. ^ Yr Wyddfa (www.dailypost.co.uk)
  2. ^ We tried the village pub named among the best eateries in Wales (www.dailypost.co.uk)
  3. ^ Natural Resources Wales (www.dailypost.co.uk)
  4. ^ forest (www.dailypost.co.uk)
  5. ^ wildlife (www.dailypost.co.uk)
  6. ^ Llyn Cwellyn (www.dailypost.co.uk)
  7. ^ Llyn Tarddeni (www.dailypost.co.uk)
  8. ^ Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter (www.dailypost.co.uk)