In the tranquil Lisnagra Woods near Muff, County Donegal, a growing conflict between recreational off-roading and wildlife conservation has alarmed local residents and elected officials, who are calling for urgent intervention to stop the widespread damage being caused by unregulated quad bike use.
Throughout the entire 2026 summer season, quad bike enthusiasts have repeatedly accessed the protected woodland, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake, according to local resident Margaret Peoples, who lives in nearby Carnamoyle. In an interview with BBC Radio Foyle’s *North West Today* on Thursday, Peoples detailed how the heavy off-road vehicles have torn apart the soft forest floor, turning large stretches of the popular public walking area into a muddy, rutted quagmire that is nearly impassable for casual visitors. “It’s been happening all summer, and it’s making the place nearly unusable for people coming with their kids, or for a walk with the dog or whatever, because it’s very badly cut up and mucky at the minute,” Peoples told the program.
Beyond disrupting public access, the damage poses a severe threat to the woodland’s delicate ecosystem and the native wildlife that depends on it. The current pre-winter season is a critical period for small native mammals, including a protected colony of red squirrels, pine martens, and wild rabbits, which are actively gathering and stashing food to survive the coming cold months. Peoples explained that the destruction of undergrowth and forest floor vegetation has ruined the natural food stores and habitats these animals rely on. Additionally, the constant roar of quad bike engines has driven away many native bird species, with locals already noting a sharp drop in birdsong compared to previous years. “These quads have been cutting the place up every weekend. Plus, it’s also doing a lot of damage to the forest floor, which is bad for the survival of the woods, for the food chain in the woods, for the seeds and the birds,” Peoples said. “It’s not the place for quads. It really isn’t.”
Sinn Féin councillor Terry Crossan has echoed these concerns, confirming that the damage is far more extensive than just a few small tracks, with large swathes of the woodland now reduced to muddy bogs. Crossan has also flagged another serious risk: high-speed quad bike operation in an area shared by family walkers and dog owners creates a major public safety hazard for all visitors. In response to repeated complaints from local residents, Crossan has formally escalated the issue to both Coillte Ireland, the state-owned forestry management company that oversees more than 440,000 hectares of forest across the Republic of Ireland, and An Garda Síochána, Ireland’s national police service. “This activity in the Lisnagra area is causing severe loss of habitat and is having a detrimental impact on wildlife, especially the red squirrels and pine martens,” Crossan noted. “Any noise pollution or damage to habitat or vegetation all has a very serious impact, with a lot of areas in the wood being turned into an absolute quagmire.”
Local conservation advocates emphasize that Lisnagra Woods is a critical refuge for native Irish wildlife, and human visitors are only temporary guests in the ecosystem that the animals depend on. Peoples has made a direct appeal to quad bike riders to relocate their recreational activity to designated off-road areas that are not ecologically sensitive, rather than continuing to damage one of the region’s important native woodlands. Crossan says he is hopeful that both Coillte and Gardaí will take swift enforcement action to stop the illegal off-roading and protect the woodland’s vulnerable wildlife population before the damage becomes irreversible.