Felling License Application

A felling license granted by the Minister for Agriculture, Food & the Marine provides authority under the Forestry Act 2014 to fell or otherwise remove a tree or trees and to thin a forest for silvicultural reasons. This Act prescribes the functions of the Minister and details the requirements, rights and obligations in relation to felling licenses.

Forest land is defined in the Forestry Act 2014 as:

Land under trees with— (a) a minimum area of 0.1 hectare, and (b) tree crown cover of more than 20 per cent of the total area, or the potential to achieve this cover at maturity.

All those involved in tree felling must ensure that a felling license has been issued before any felling is carried out, unless they are satisfied that the felling is exempted . It is an offense to fell trees without a felling license if an exemption does not apply.

Forest and Tree services will ensure that felling applications are compliant with the felling act to ensure approval is received in a timely and efficient manner. licenses are now issued for a period of 10 years. Licenses now require that a Harvest plan be submitted as outlined in the attachment.

Felling licenses approved  for clearfalls will generally carry a replanting obligation to which we can offer our services to organise and manage the successful establishment of your next forest rotation.

Licenses are often required for construction or wind farm developments, we have dealt with a number of these projects and and we have gained knowledge and experience in the approval of these licenses. We can also locate and purchase replacement land for any forest removed during these construction developments.