Useful links, highlights, updates and reflections
Tēnā koutou, welcome to our final newsletter of 2023.
Whether you are reading this before, during or after your Christmas break, we hope you'll find something interesting:
- 2023 Highlights across the work streams
- People movements
- Summer Health and Safety reminders
- Operations Updates - a new tool for the kit this summer and new good practice guides
- A new video celebrating progress in the Marlborough Sounds
- Other information and handy links
A note from Sherman
It was great to catch up with so many people and meet new faces at the Wilding Pine Conference in Queenstown in October. It always gives me a real boost of enthusiasm to see the inspiring work happening around the country and it highlights both the national scale and very site specific nature of wilding management – every site has its own challenges and set of values that make it important to protect. The landscapes are different, the wilding species vary, the solutions are unique to the land and its people, while at the same time it is an issue that we will win or lose collectively. It was also exciting this time around to see an increasing community focus on restoration of previously heavily invaded areas back into native vegetation and enabling opportunities for recreation.
Looking back on the year, it has been predictably unpredictable – we’ve had some challenges and some wins, and as always, the great people doing this mahi around the country have worked together sharing their expertise, experience, and focus on long-term goals, with equal doses of optimism, pragmatism and tenacity.
Sherman at his home base, the Biosecurity New Zealand office in Nelson
To all those out annihilating wildings over the summer for work or pleasure (with landowners' OK, of course) – enjoy knowing that you are making a difference for this beautiful country – and above all be safe.
We have also farewelled some people of immense expertise this year, with the retirement of Graham Sullivan from ECan, Keith Briden from DOC and Kevin Gallagher from Toitū te Whenua LINZ – our best wishes to you all.
In Remembrance
Many would have been sad to hear of the passing of Dave Mole from LINZ in October. Dave was a key person in the early days of the National Programme, building WCIS, representing LINZ in many aspects of the Programme being a really nice guy to work with. His loss is felt by his family, colleagues at LINZ and many others. We also acknowledge that it is almost a year since the loss of Amon Saunders, another good man greatly missed.
The Christmas and holiday season are never quite the same for families affected by loss of any kind. The team and I wish everyone your full share of happy moments over the summer.
People movements
As well as Graham's retirement, Environment Canterbury bade farewell this year to the expertise of Matt Hall, Lance Smith and Steven Palmer from one hand, but gains Rich Langley and Robin Pieper in the other.
Sandra Wotherspoon brings her own wealth of experience at DOC in the role of Technical Advisor (Weeds) following Keith’s departure.
Within the Programme team at Biosecurity New Zealand our technical advisor Tessa Roberts has decided not to return after her time on maternity leave, we wish the growing family all the best! Sarah Vernon who has long been an essential member of the team as a Coordinator, Advisor and knower of all things, is currently seconded into Tessa’s role, while still indispensable in aspects of her previous role. Lyla Tapusoa joined the team as an intern in February adding valuable support across the workstreams, and Jennifer Agaldo took up the science and research reins in March, hitting the ground running with a TAG meeting in her second week and never looking back.
Highlights of 2023
Sweet revenge on vexing seed sources
This year saw several un-managed seed sources removed from key areas – reducing seed rain onto highly vulnerable landscapes and reducing the future impacts they face from ongoing wilding spread. Hearty congratulations to the local teams responsible for these wins.
In the policy space:
Updated forestry policy will reduce wilding spread risk
The passing of legislation changing the National Environmental Standard for Plantation Forestry (NES-PF) to the NES-CF - Commercial Forestry was good news after a lot of work by our Technical Advisory Group (TAG) members, the Wilding Pine Network, and Sarah Fish our policy and strategy expert. Sarah provided advice and coordination with Te Uru Rākau the NZ Forestry Service throughout the long process leading up to this. With the new NES-CF, all planting of commercial exotic forestry (whether planted for harvest or as permanent/carbon forest) will be subject to an assessment of wilding spread risk. Previously this was only required for plantation (for harvest) forests.
Details at the Ministry for the Environment website: National environmental standards for commercial forestry | Ministry for the Environment
Preparing for successful transition
Working with partners on guidance paper on managing Transition of land when it can move back to local management has been another key focus. Sarah Fish and Carl Diamond shared the progress on this in their Conference presentation.
International recognition for New Zealand wildings research
Congratulations to Scion for putting New Zealand’s wilding issue, and the Vive La Résistance (VLR) research into wilding regeneration, on the cover of Cambridge University Press’s Invasive Plant Science and Management Journal, and also (for lay folks) on wssa.net (Weed Science Society of America). Sherman is quoted in Scion’s own recent article about their find – is the P. contorta plaguing the Mackenzie a hybrid?
It has been a busy year for Jennifer Agaldo, including working with Scion and our other research partners and TAG on the VLR research and more, like supporting our infestation mapping project and a post control effectiveness auditing methodology.
Conservation funding will help maintain the gains
While funding is still limited, and at the forefront of our minds, sharing $7 million worth of good news on behalf of DOC during the conference was a step in the right direction. See Sherman’s October update if you missed the news.
This funding enables more maintenance control work to be done this financial year in the highest priority areas needing follow up control. As soon as all the necessary boxes are ticked, we will get this funding out the door. The map below shows the active areas for this year at this stage.
We continue exploring opportunities to support control in areas where we are not currently able to invest in maintenance, with the strategy goals in mind.
Conference 2023
Always a highlight, this year's conference was a rich three days. To all who presented their work, learnings and ideas - thanks for the inspiration! Full credit to the seemingly (almost) inexhaustible Jo Ritchie, unflappable Jo Phelan, crew from Whakatipu Control Group, Queenstown Lakes District Council, DOC and others, who pulled together a full and valuable experience.
Presentations are online Conference 2023 Presentations - Wilding Pine Network NZ
< Two forms of unique wildlife spotted above the soil during the Conference 2023 Central Otago field trip. Bottom: WPN's Jo Ritchie in a state of deep concentration.
Getting on the road and getting together
The connections between people all around the country are the life of this Programme and there is nothing like kanohi-ki-te-kanohi, talking face to face about local issues and ideas.
Over the year Sherman or others in the team were able to visit locals in Hanmer Springs, Lake Tekapo/Takapō, Fairlie, Kurow, Wanaka, the Gisborne District, Tākaka, Aotea Great Barrier Island, Taupo... and the Christchurch Agricultural Show.
Adam Ross, NWCCP Operations team, with visitors at the Christchurch Agricultural Show, November 2023
Operations Updates & Good Practice Guides
A gnarly new tool for wilding control
The Programme is pleased to announce a new wilding control weapon is approved for use, just in time for a summer of control work.
After several operational trials and assessments, and discussions with the Technical Advisory Group, we are satisfied that, used with care, the ‘Gnarly’ formulation is an effective full foliar spot spray application for pesky medium sized, scattered wildings.
Gnarly can be used to control wilding conifers where;
- Trees are up to 3m tall
- It is applied over the summer growing season (November – April)
A Good Practice Guide for foliar spot spraying is being developed. In the meantime, the Operations team has prepared some advice for safe effective use, please get in touch if you have not already received this and need it, or if you have any questions about safe effective use of Gnarly. Email wilding.pines@mpi.govt.nz
Health and Safety reminders for the summer: You all know the drill - plan ahead and bring everyone home safe, every time.
- Fire and other risk mitigation
- Correct personal protective gear and safety procedures
- Communications equipment
- Follow Good Practice Guidance
There are two recent additions to the Good Practice Guides library:
Safe helicopter transport has the Pilot and Load Master in charge. This video spells out what you need to know:
Fire is a serious risk to worker safety. We recommend checking out this updated Fire Mitigation Plan Example - thanks to Zolve for sharing:
Engagement
New video >
We're just as excited as the Marlborough Sounds Restoration Trust to see the video about their work on Arapaoa Island, front and centre for passengers on inter-island ferries.
This will soon join the other videos the Programme has supported, which we hope you will enjoy and share, some lovely holiday viewing! wildingpines.nz/videos
Tag us in your summer social posts
This helps us share your mahi from around the Programme with our audiences around the country:
facebook.com/kotatouthisisus/ (Biosecurity focus)
facebook.com/MPIgovtnz (Primary production focus)
linkedin.com/company/new-zealand-ministry-for-primary-industries
Resources and engagement tools
There for you to use:
