Council’s forestry approach Debate

Community Wellbeing - Equality & Inclusion

Option 2

The commenter strongly supports Option 2, emphasizing the importance of involving a diverse range of community perspectives, including those with biodiversity expertise, to enhance the project's effectiveness and inclusivity. They highlight the potential for profound positive benefits on the management of the city’s eastern hinterland and the restoration of indigenous biodiversity values, which would provide increased recreational opportunities and long-term financial benefits to the community. The involvement of community members, especially volunteers, in the transition from exotic to native species is seen as crucial for the success of the project, fostering community pride and participation in enhancing local biodiversity and recreational spaces.

Table of comments:

Point No

Comment

1045.1

Firstly, a big thank you to Council for the decision to undertake a review of its 600ha of plantation forestry holdings. Secondly, congratulations to the Right Tree Right Place Taskforce for the thorough and comprehensive review of the council’s forestry holdings. The information, assessments, observations and preferences contained in the various reports and the well-foundered, evidence-based and wide-ranging recommendations should provide a strong strategic basis for Council to proceed with a staged approach to implementing the taskforce’s recommendations. If the recommendations are adopted and implemented over time with extensive community involvement they should result in profound positive benefits on the management of the City’s eastern hinterland and restoration of indigneous biodiversity values and provide increased recreational opportunities for residents and visitors. This in turn should not only provide personal health and social benefits but also considerable long term financial benefits to the wider community and future generations. Council’s options for forestryIn terms of the two options proposed, I strongly support Option 2 – Council’s proposal to change the current approach through exiting commercial forestry over time and to grow a continuous canopy of mixed species and manage the Council land as one area. Related priorities and considerationsTo enable option 2 to proceed it is crucial to quickly prepare a next steps strategy and to allocate adequate funding in the LTP to address the recommendations in the report requiring immediate action (14 & 15), the transition planning and high priority areas for action (16-19). The need to urgently address current issues with invasive pest animals and plants mentioned in several places in the report and is the focus of recommendation 5, will also need to have adequate funding in all years of the LTP. Otherwise, the current biodiversity degradation will continue to increase and become an even more difficult challenge to get on top of. While supporting the concept of mixed forests and having introduced canopy trees in appropriate areas that maybe harvested at some stage in the future, the location of such areas and the species used need to be carefully considered. I note that the report indicates that the most likely locations for consideration of some continued planting of timber species  is some of the more accessible lower slopes in the Roding, which from my knowledge of the eastern hills I concur with. Such considerations include the impacts of providing ground access to such sites, impacts on waterways and establishment of adequate riparian margins, as well as ensuring that they do not contribute to additional wilding pines or other introduced species becoming future pest plants. I suggest that the ‘independent community entity’ included in recommendation 4 have in addition to tangata whenua also have a wide range of perspectives from the community including those with biodiversity expertise, and perhaps also involvement in the Nelson Biodiversity Forum. I also feel that recommendation 6 could be strengthened through the addition of “and biodiversity” after “climate” and in front of the last word “risks” so that it reads …. “and address climate and biodiversity risks”. As I mention in two paragraphs below it is widely accepted that we have a NZ and global biodiversity crisis (as well as a climate crisis). Other relevant considerationsWhile the report provides some background on previous discussions and reports on the development and impacts of forestry there have been significant changes in community attitudes and values as well as in council over the last 40 years or so that I believe are important for council and those who will be dealing with the implementation of the report to bear in mind. There has been increasing acknowledgement that NZ, and the rest of the world, is facing a biodiversity crisis with the loss of indigenous habitats particularly in lowland areas and the degradation of remaining areas through the spread of introduced browsing animals and the reduction in and loss of our special indigenous fauna. The conservation movement has largely moved from saving areas under threats of destruction to restoration of the biodiversity values over a wide range of habitats.  These concerns and the desire to restore degraded areas was a major driver in the establishment of the Nelson Biodiversity Forum and the resulting Biodiversity Strategies developed jointly by Council, the Department of Conservation and other government agencies along with a wide of concerned community organisations and companies. Many existing organisations, such as Forest and Bird and Friends of the Maitai, took the lead in various restoration projects. It was also the key driver for the establishment of the Brook Waimarama Sanctuary Trust and the creation of a predator-free sanctuary in Council’s former water management reserve in the upper Brook Valley. Many trapping groups have been working hard in areas around the sanctuary and in the corridor down the Brook Valley to reduce the numbers of animal pests, such as stoats, possums, weasels and rats, that were killing large numbers of birds. The Brook Waimarama Sanctuary and other conservation projects have shown that there is an “army of conservation volunteers” in our community who are very willing to regularly give their time and energy to enhancing the biodiversity values of our natural areas, including in riparian margins and the often quite rugged eastern hills. Such groups of volunteers have been co-ordinated and assisted by Council over many years now, including in projects under the umbrella of the Council’s Nelson Nature programme. The results from these efforts are now showing up not only when people visit the sanctuary and areas where pest trapping is occurring and supplementary planting is being undertaken, but also in residential areas adjoining the eastern hills with increased sightings of native bird species.     There is no reason why this voluntary army cannot be encouraged and increased to assist with the replanting of areas cleared of exotic forestry in the areas that are to be transitioned to native species. Many retirees are keen to contribute to such projects and many active walkers, runners and mountain bikers are also keen to give back to improve the areas they enjoy visiting and to expanding such areas. It may be useful for those planning the transition from exotic to native species to review the work that the Nelson Biodiversity Forum has undertaken, including the large-scale mapping of potential biodiversity corridors designed to link upland areas with lowland and coastal areas, to see how such retired forestry areas can be incorporated into and enhance such biodiversity corridors. It is pleasing to see that the taskforce report acknowledges that much of the forestry blocks in the Maitai, Marsden and Brook catchments are within the Nelson Nature Halo project around the Brook Waimarama Sanctuary. And in addition that the report contains observations and preferences that they be phased over to indigenous vegetation and provide increased habitat enhancement for birdlife from the sanctuary and additional opportunities for increased recreational activities close to urban areas. This fits very nicely with the Brook Waimarama Sanctuary vision of a biodiversity corridor down the Brook Valley and of improving the habitat outside of the predator-proof fence to enable wildlife that fly over or are relocated outside the fence to have a greater chance of successfully repopulating the adjacent areas of native forests. As a former member of the Forestry Committee during my second term as a councillor, I advocated for a wider range of plantation species, including macrocarpa and hardwood species, to provide a range of timbers that could provide a resource for local furniture and cabinet makers and other possible users of alternative species. However, the prevailing view at the time was that Council needed to focus on increasing the area of Council’s “commercial” exotic forestry plantations to a so-called “sustainable” area of 800ha and continue planting Pinus radiata (as that was what everybody else was planting). This situation was not entirely surprising as the chair of the committee then was the recently retired former NZ Forest Service Conservator of Forests for the Nelson Marlborough area. One of the consequences of this desire to increase the area in plantation forestry was the establishment of some areas of pine plantations in small isolated pockets (particularly in the Maitai catchment) with seemingly no consideration of how the trees would be harvested 25-30 years later and the potential adverse impacts from providing access tracks and the logging techniques on water and soil values. Pines were also planted upstream of Council’s Maitai water supply dam and intakes contrary to its own water supply catchment management practice and the generally accepted best practice throughout the country. So it is very pleasing to read in the taskforce report that such plantings are likely to be transitioned to natives and environmentally damaging practices of clear felling of quite large areas will cease. In 2009, as Chair of Council’s Environment Committee I reworked a discussion paper following encouragement from Mayor Marshall on revegetating the city’s hill backdrop and valleys and establishing corridors which built on a paper initially prepared six years earlier. It seemed to help with the Council purchase of additional land on the Grampians, Brook Valley and the ridge in between the Brook and Maitai valleys that contained the former Dun Mountain railway line that is now part of the popular Coppermine Trail – one of the 23 Great Rides of New Zealand. It was however rather disappointing to see that after the pines were harvested that it was mostly replanted in another crop of pines. The paper is included below for anyone who is interested in reading it. 28 April 2009 The Chairperson and CouncillorsEnvironment Committee VEGETATING THE CITY HILL BACKDROP AND VALLEYS AND ESTABLISHING CORRIDORS Reason for the PaperTo suggest the preparation of a strategy for the re-vegetation of the city’s backdrop hills and valleys and the establishment of multi-purpose corridors. BackgroundOver the past decade or so, Council has been actively re-vegetating some of the hills that form the backdrop to the central city with native and other appropriate species. Areas on the Grampians, Centre of NZ and the Malvern Hills have been particularly targeted. Various individuals and community groups have assisted with this work. A network of tracks which have been popular with walkers, runners and mountain bikers has been established as part of the provision of recreational facilities available to residents and visitors. The western slopes of the Malvern Hills were purchased by Council with the express purpose of securing the backdrop to the CBD and Wood in public ownership. The planting of native species has been happening progressively. A well-used track has been provided, linking the Centre of NZ with Walter’s Bluff. Council now owns the majority of the Grampians, including a valuable native forest remnant on the southern slopes and has been replacing the pine and eucalyptus species with more appropriate ornamental exotic species and natives. The public reaction to the choice of exotic ornamentals indicated that there is considerable support for re-vegetating our hills with native species.  In the Marsden Valley, a combined programme with Council, schools and the community has been controlling old man’s beard and other weed pests and planting additional native trees in the reserve areas. Additional tracks are planned to cater for walkers, runners and mountain bikers, including providing further access to the Bryant Range. Over the past 30 years, Council has been actively acquiring land in the Maitai Valley and establishing a variety of recreational facilities, including the Maitai Walkway and Waahi Taakaro golf course. The Brook Waimarama Sanctuary Trust has been established and is working on implementing its vision for a fenced pest-free sanctuary in the forested headwaters of the Brook catchment where lost species, such as kiwi, saddleback and tuatara, will be able to be re-introduced. It is anticipated that the sanctuary will be a nursery for wildlife that will spread into the adjoining forested areas such as the Maitai Valley, Marsden Valley, Mount Richmond Forest Park and down the Brook Valley corridor into the central city. In August 2003, the Council and the Department of Conservation jointly published the booklet Living Heritage: Growing Native Plants in Nelson which describes eight different lowland ecosystems in the Nelson City area and provides advice on planting and lists of native species appropriate for each ecosystem. This publication is an excellent resource for residents, community groups and others interested in restoring the native vegetation that is unique to Nelson. In May 2007, Council adopted the Nelson Biodiversity Strategy after a collaborative preparation effort by a Council-led inter-agency working group involving more than 20 community organisation over the preceding 2 years, including wider public consultation. The strategy contains 8 principles for biodiversity management, a vision, goals, objectives, methods and priority actions, including the preparation of Biodiversity Action Plans to cover flats, freshwater, coast, sea and hills. The Biodiversity Forum at its most recent meeting on 30 March 2009 adopted 3 action plans for the terrestrial, freshwater and coastal marine environments. It is now a widely accepted principle in biodiversity and conservation reserve management that connected areas are better than unconnected areas and that larger reserves are better than smaller reserves and as a consequence the benefits of connecting reserve areas via wildlife corridors are now widely appreciated. Such corridors are general vegetated to at least some extent to enable the movement of wildlife, particularly birds, in relatively safety and with food sources along the way to help sustain them in journeys between larger areas of suitable habitat. In urban and peri-urban situations such corridors can be for multiple purposes eg they can contain tracks and other facilities for recreational users. In valleys, such corridors can also incorporate esplanade/riparian reserves/strips alongside rivers and streams. The Nelson Biodiversity Strategy included several references to this concept such as Priority Action 16. Connect large and small remnants of native vegetation where appropriate with corridors of replanting, focusing these along the course of streams and rivers and across the city. The VisionTo develop a strategy or policy that has a goals of vegetating with appropriate native and other species, the city backdrop and adjacent valleys and establishes multi-purpose corridors that help to achieve the biodiversity strategy and bring nature back into the urban areas.Preparation of a Re-vegetation and Corridor StrategySuch a strategy could build on what Council has been doing over recent years and provide a more integrated, considered and strategic approach then the present rather ad hoc approach. It could identify backdrop hills and valleys that could be re-vegetated with native and appropriate exotic species. It could also identify possible corridors to link areas of native vegetation. These could be mapped onto large scale aerial photographs. The strategy could in addition to covering land currently owned by Council also include other public lands, land protected by covenants and land that has significant conservation value or potential strategic and/or conservation value that Council or other public agencies may wish to acquire and/or protect. Priorities could be established to help determine Council work programmes, guide community planting projects and reserve acquisition. Council could involve other interested parties including the Biodiversity Forum and provide opportunities for public input. Such a strategy may provide reserve network information that could eventually be incorporated in the Nelson Resource Management Plan, perhaps via structure plans, and into other Council documents such as reserve management plans. BenefitsThese could include:Biodiversity – assisting with implementation of the Nelson Biodiversity Strategy -  enhanced natural values through additional areas of native vegetation and network of wildlife corridors;Community involvement and pride – huge potential to involve the community and to tap into the enthusiasm for planting native trees and shrubs and predator control projects – participants deriving personal satisfaction and community pride from their involvement and the work achieved;Recreation and healthy lifestyle – additional recreational opportunities;Nelson naturally brand – another clean & green element - enhanced backdrop to city and corridor network – a point of difference with other communities;Tourism – additional attractions and facilities for visitors;Employment and training – opportunities for pest control, plant propagation, planting, track development etc;Reduced fire risk – buffer between inflammable vegetation and city;Buffer between people and pollen from pines;Increased certainty with respect to long term planning goals;Substantial contribution to Council’s vision and community outcomes; andPossible opportunities for obtaining carbon credits for re-vegetated and enhanced areas. Recommendation That the Environment Committee consider this paper and, if supportive, set up a joint councillor and staff working group to prepare a draft re-vegetation and corridor strategy.  Derek Shaw