Weed control boosted in Ashburton District

Environment Canterbury today announced the successful completion of two important weed control projects in the Ashburton district.

Weed control to protect Canterbury’s unique braided river bed habitats and the species that call them home has been given a boost by the Ashburton and Regional Canterbury Water Management Committee’s Immediate Steps biodiversity funding.

In 2011 the Ashburton Zone Committee supported the Rangitata Landcare Group with a $20,000 Immediate Steps grant to undertake aerial control of dense broom near Johns Streams in the Upper Rangitata.

Sally Stevens of the Rangitata Landcare group says the control in Johns Stream was a contribution to the wider control programme.

“The Immediate Steps grant allowed us to accelerate our programme and carry out this control sooner than planned,” she said. “Support from the committee has been a great boost to the ongoing partnership in the Upper Rangitata. The coordination and contributions from all parties (including runholders, councils, LINZ and DoC) allow us to make a difference.”

As part of a larger grant to the Whitcombe Landcare Group, the Ashburton committee also provided $1,100 for survey and control of false tamarisk along the upper south bank of the Rakaia River.

False tamarisk is a recent introduction to the Upper Rakaia, first noticed in 2009. Its seeds are water and wind spread, but probably first came into the area on machinery doing river protection work.

The Whitcombe Landcare Group (Upper Rakaia) was pleased to be able to undertake control work when the weed was still only in isolated patches.

Group chair Donna Field says that in the past new weeds had arrived in their area and the risk they posed was unknown, so no control had been undertaken.

“As weeds spread the cost of control grows exponentially, and often by the time it is recognised that a weed is a threat, control costs are huge and eradication is no longer possible,” she said.

“With the support of this grant we hope we can stop that happening with false tamarisk in the Upper Rakaia.”

Frances Schmechel, Environment Canterbury Senior Biodiversity Advisor, says protection of the regionally and internationally significant biodiversity of these two catchments has been supported by the Regional Water Committee, with the Regional Immediate Steps Braided River Flagship Project providing $540,000 of funding over five years.

“This funding will go towards supporting ongoing weed control in the two catchments as well as other projects such as protecting wetlands and springs, and enhancing mahinga kai sites,” she said.

Background

For several years landcare groups in the Upper Rangitata and Rakaia catchments have been leading coordinated approaches to weed control with landowners, the Department of Conservation, Land Information New Zealand and Environment Canterbury.

These projects focus on protecting the natural character of braided rivers through control of woody weeds such as gorse, broom, russell lupins and false tamarisk.

This in turn provides habitat protection for unique braided river species such as wrybill, banded dotterel and black fronted-tern, which rely on the open gravel habitat for nesting and breeding.

The Immediate Steps biodiversity programme was launched in 2010 and has $1.3 million available each year for five years to protect and restore freshwater and water use affected biodiversity.

Both the Ashburton and Regional committees are currently interested in hearing from landowners in the Upper Rakaia and Rangitata, Ashburton foothills, and the coastal area between Rangitata and Ashburton rivers, who are interested in protecting wetlands, springs or streams on their properties.

Landowners should contact Donna Woodley of Environment Canterbury, 027 225 6396, for more information.