Environmental Update April 2004

Wenita Website

Have you visited the Wenita website lately? We have made some changes and updates. The site contains information on:

• Environmental Certification
  
• Rosebank Sawmill
  
• Forest Products
  
• Woodlot Purchase

Greaves Wetland

The first stage of restoration at Greaves Wetland has been successfully completed. This restoration focused on plantings with the aim of providing habitat for birdlife. In 2004 we intend to undertake further planting in the four vegetation zones of the wetland. This will include rushes in the tidal zone; flax and toetoe in the swampy zone; cabbage trees, Comprosma propinqua, manuka and kanuka in the drier zone; and lastly some locally grown raupo in the open water zone.

Environmental Certification

FSC Surveillance Audit

The FSC surveillance audit is scheduled for mid-May 2004. Wenita currently has no Corrective Action Requests (CARs) and hopes to maintain this level of achievement.

ISO 14001 Surveillance Audit

The ISO 14001 surveillance audit is to be carried out in June 2004. As with FSC, Wenita currently has no Corrective Action Requests (CARs).

Forest Public Use

Permitted public use of Wenita forests continues to be high, with the most popular activities being hunting and firewood collecting. Unfortunately, the level of non-permitted use has also been increasing, especially motorbike riding. Uncontrolled public use of our forests is a concern to us due to the safety issues it raises, the potential risks to the forest and the problems associated with conflicting activities being carried out at the same time. All forest users are to ensure that they obtain a permit from our Mosgiel office before entering the forest. It’s easy and free!

Hunting has gone on-line…

A common public complaint about Wenita’s hunting access is that getting a permit seems nigh on impossible! Wenita has over 740 people in its hunting database, all wanting the use the same forests on the same weekend! Therefore, in the interests of everyone, Wenita has attempted to make permit application easier and faster by putting the hunting application on-line for all who have internet access. This is currently being trialed and feedback to date has been positive. Go to: www.wenita.co.nz/permits/permit.html.
You will need to ring the office to be set up as a user with a password.

Monitoring

Species Survey

Species surveys are continuing within Wenita’s estate to ensure all non productive area has adequate protection and management plans. Approximately 200 hectares of reserve was surveyed in 2003 and added to Wenita’s EMS and GIS.

Site Disturbance Monitoring:

Using the LIRO procedure for assessing site disturbance, further assessments have been carried out. The results show that most soil disturbance falls into the ‘shallow disturbance class’. The results indicate a promising trend, with the occurrence of deep soil disturbance continuing to decrease.
Waterways Monitoring:
SHMAK monitoring has been undertaken in 7 streams with 2 new sites being added to the programme. The streams continue to score favourably, with the highest scores being achieved by having low sedimentation, good water quality and clarity. The lowest scores result from streamside vegetation which tends to be weedy or exotic.

Chemical Usage:

The amount of chemical used in 2003 shot through the roof compared with previous years! This was due partly to the weather patterns of 2003 promoting excellent weed growth and due partly to a marked increase in Douglas fir plantings which require different herbicide products to radiata. However, chemical minimisation initiatives are ongoing and we remain on target to reduce our chemical usage and toxicity over time, despite short term increases.

Environmental Incidents

There has been 1 environmental incident since the last issue of this newsletter. The incident related to a contractor using an unauthorised stream crossing and it resulted in damage to the stream banks as well as an unacceptable level of slash and sedimentation in the waterway. The incident was noticed during a site visit by the supervisor in charge of the operation and reported to Wenita.
The site involved was immediately and successfully remediated, with all possible slash being removed. Training has been undertaken with all harvesting contractors, including the machine operators.

NZ Falcon

NZ Falcon continue to feel at home in production forestry landscapes and many forestry workers are convinced the birds are following them around! It appears the Falcon might just like the vegetation disturbance harvesting creates, as it gives them great opportunities to find creatures such as mice without all the hard work. Staff and contractors reported 27 sightings during the 2003 Falcon breeding season and subsequently 6 nests were located by representatives of the ornithological society. This year we were lucky enough to have
on-site training for harvesting crews that were working close to nesting sites to ensure sites were not disturbed. Congratulations to those contractors who reported Falcon activity early and helped preserve nesting sites.

NZ Falcon - the film star!

The story of one man’s obsession with the NZ Falcon is being recorded on film. During the 1970’s George Chance embarked on a voyage of discovery; a voyage that was to provide George with an intimate insight into one of nature’s true characters. Whilst working as an optometrist he was to spend 10 years of his life photographing the NZ Falcon. Now, at the age of 87 and going blind, he has re-ignited his passion for this wonderful bird. He is now part of a film project to bring his still images to life and to explore the world of this charismatic Falcon. Partly filmed in Berwick Forest (with the help of Wenita Forest Products) the film also follows a remarkable population of Falcons that have adapted to take advantage of commercial pine plantations. The film follows their progress, and potential perils, throughout two breeding seasons as well as highlighting some of their adaptations to this relatively new habitat.
(Submitted by film maker - Sandy Crichton)