Cefni and Pentraeth Forest Resource Plan - Approved 3 May 2022

Location and setting

Cefni and Pentraeth Forest Resource Plan includes four woodland areas on the central and eastern side of the Isle of Anglesey.

Cefni- Is the most westerly area and sits to the north-west of the town of Llangefni, it is made up of 77.6ha of predominantly productive woodland that surrounds the Cefni Reservoir.

Pentraeth - Is the largest of the blocks at 244.5ha and is predominantly a mixture of pine and spruce however, a large area of broadleaf provides a valuable habitat towards the western side of the woods. The forest overlooks Red Wharf Bay and is close to the Welsh costal path it is therefore very prominent from several recreational and touristic areas. The woodland and the pine in particular is important habitat for red squirrels, butterflies and a wide range of bird species.

Coed Cadw and Nant - this area comprises 20ha towards the far east of the Isle of Anglesey and just north of Beaumaris Town. This area is a mixture of restored and planted ancient woodland.

Opportunities and priorities

Timber

• Continue to maintain a sustainable supply of timber production through design of felling and choice of restock species, within Cefni and Pentraeth.
• To identify larger areas of forest suitable for Continuous Cover Forestry (CCF) management. With this future crops within Cefni should aim to be managed with the intention of becoming a CCF crop.
• Due to large areas of Phytophthora nearly all larch elements at Cefni will need to be removed Statutory plant health notices (SPHN) means this will occur within the 2022-26 felling period. Ramorum disease (Phytophthora ramorum)
• Increase species diversity, in many areas of Pentraeth and Cefni, good soils and low exposure mean that good species diversity can be achieved which will improve the resilience of the forest for the future.
• Increase structural diversity though Low Impact Silvicultural Systems (LISS) management, and where appropriate consider the scale, size and timings of clearfell, and avoid felling of adjacent coupes where possible.
• Older crops in poor condition in Pentraeth will be managed as small group fells and a CCF management, naturally occurring openings will be cleared and if needed enriched to develop the next rotation of crops, older mature trees will provide shelter and seed source.
• Where possible to maintain aerial corridors through CCF management and smaller coupe fells, this structure is demonstrated within the Forest Management Systems Maps. This will be inline with historic objectives to maintain habitats for Red Squirrel populations.
• Improvement of thinning regime to ensure that crops are thinned at an appropriate age to be considered for future LISS management.

Habitat

• Continue to maintain habitat corridors through the forest blocks, this will help maintain connectivity through the forest estate and with adjacent private woodland areas. This is key to maintaining Red Squirrel Habitat as well as other species that populate the woodlands.
• Where restocking takes place consideration of suitable species for habitat benefits and timber will take place. Species such as Norway Spruce and Hazel have been highlighted as beneficial for Red Squirrel Populations.
• Ensuring areas of broadleaf are maintained as habitat suitable for features of the adjacent Special Protection Area (SPA).
• Improve monitoring of red squirrels, this improve the data that we have on the population and how they change.

Ancient Woodland Management

• Restoration of Ancient woodland sites predominantly in Coed Cadw and Nant, due to poor stand stability and poor access this may be managed through clearfelling.
• Areas of Ancient woodland within Pentraeth will be managed through Low Impact Silvicultural Systems.
• Management of Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS) such as Rhododendron within the Ancient woodland sites particularly in Pentraeth will be essential for maintaining ancient woodland features.

Recreation

• Continue to maintain existing recreational areas, some disruptions may occur during operations, however closures of paths will be kept to as short a period as possible. Cefni in particular with its position and location has great opportunities to be improved over future years for linking communities through recreation and continued consultation with the local community, county council and teams within NRW.
• NRW will be working in partnership with the Green Spine/ Corridor group to help develop an accessible off-road route and wildlife corridor across Anglesey from Newborough Forest to Amlwch, linking people and habitats together. Part of this plan will involve improving facilities along Lon Las Cefni.
• Develop opportunities with the collaborative NRW/ NWWT project looking to develop links from east to west Anglesey
• Improve information at car parks in Cefni to provide information on multi user paths, to help improve facilities for the public
• Look for opportunities to link up haulage tracks and walking cycle routes.

Water management

• Development and maintenance of Riparian corridors around all water bodies will be important for the management of water, for water quality, flood risk management and will add to habitat corridors throughout all woodland blocks. This management will also improve sediment run off and will therefore reduce any effect on nearby marine conservation areas such as the Liverpool Bay SAC.
• Careful coupe planning around Cefni will be critical to ensure that there is no impact on drinking water and its supply.

Landscape

• Developing native woodland buffers around woodlands and along main roads will reduce the impact of the woodlands on the landscape.
• Management of windblows areas within Pentraeth especially, will be a priority as these areas are exposed and visible from greater distances.
• Consideration of the impact on the AONB – particularly the landscape aspect when viewed from the other side of red wharf bay.

Heritage

• Identify heritage and cultural features to avoid damage.
• Removal of larch and diversify the forest species composition to increase resilience to pests and diseases whilst building a robust forest for future generations.
• Increase structural diversity through the introduction of long term retention and Continuous Cover Forestry.
• Continue to maintain a sustainable supply of timber production through the design of felling and restock species choice.
• Increase successional /riparian woodland areas for the improvement of habitat resilience and landscape scale habitat linkages.
• Identify and protect important environmental and heritage features.
• Enhance the visitor experience by the maintenance of existing public access and taking opportunities to break up the forests’ conifer edges over time.

Summary of the main changes that will occur in the forest

• Clear felling of larch due to Phytophthora ramorum, unfortunatly due to a statutory plant health notice, extensive clearfelling of larch will happen in Cefni by March 2022.
• More use of Continuous Cover Forestry methods to manage productive coupes.
• Restoration of Ancient Woodland Sites in particular those at Coed Nant and Cadw.

Maps

Location map

Cefni - Forest management and felling strategy map
Cefni - Forest types and restocking map
Cefni - Long-term vision map

Pentraeth - Forest management and felling strategy map
Pentraeth - Forest types and restocking map
Pentraeth - Long-term vision map

Coed Cadw and Nant - Forest management and felling strategy map
Coed Cadw and Nant - Forest types and restocking map
Coed Cadw and Nant - Long-term vision map​