Follow-up gorse control for Whitireia Park

The Greater Wellington Regional Council will continue the restoration of Whitireia Park following the February 2010 fire with a 12-hectare aerial gorse control operation this December.

The Whitireia Park Board gave Greater Wellington approval to carry out the operation at its board meeting last week. The operation is a follow-up to Greater Wellington’s 55-hectare operation, which took place in November-December 2010.

Barbara Donaldson, Chair of the Whitireia Park Board and Chair of Greater Wellington’s Environmental Wellbeing Committee, says that although a much larger follow-up operation was anticipated, during a September inspection Greater Wellington officers observed very little regrowth of gorse within the area sprayed last year. (The Whitireia Park Board is made up of Greater Wellington’s Cr Nigel Wilson, Cr Jenny Brash and Cr Barbara Donaldson, and three Ngāti Toa representatives – Taku Parai, Reina Solomon and Manu Katene.)

“The success of last year’s operation is good news for the Titahi Bay community and bodes very well for the future of the park – the less gorse, the less of a fire risk to the park and nearby residents. And controlling gorse will assist the regeneration of native bush, which is less flammable than gorse and much better for the park’s biodiversity.”

Ngāti Toa Whitireia Park Board representative Reina Solomon says: “Although Ngāti Toa does not endorse the use of chemicals for environmental sustainability, due to the extent of damage caused by the fire we are confident that this is the best option presently available. We hope to preserve the restoration efforts of past decades where possible, and restore the natural landscape of Whitireia Park for present and future generations of the community.”

The operation will take 1-2 days between 5 and 20 December. The gorse will be controlled using metsulfuron (trade name DuPont Answer) by aerial boom spraying from a helicopter – the same method was used for last year’s operation.

None of the locations identified for spraying are near residential areas, unlike last year’s operation. However, one of the spraying areas is along a strip of coastal land. In order to avoid the water, spraying will be kept 30 metres back from the water’s edge and will only take place in appropriate weather conditions.

Greater Wellington will close the park during the operation and signs will be erected to advise the public when this is occurring.

Please read the Whitireia Park gorse control newsletter November 2011 for Q&As on the operation and a map of the spray zones.