Environmental Update

August 2002

Greaves Wetland

An area of approximately 10 hectares adjacent to the Taieri River has been identified as being suitable for restoration as a wetland. This area is particularly attractive for restoration for a number of reasons including; proximity to the lower Taieri wetland complex, its direct link to the Taieri River, presence of Fernbirds in the area and easy public access.

We are interested in hearing from any individuals or groups who might be interested in being involved in this project.

Environmental Certification

FSC Surveillance Audit

The first FSC surveillance audit was completed in July. All outstanding Corrective Actions (CAR’s) from the first audit were closed out. Four new minor CAR’s were issued, and we are now working towards closing these out.

Once again the auditors were impressed by the positive attitudes of staff and contractors to the requirements of FSC.

ISO 14001 Surveillance Audit

An ISO 14001 surveillance audit was carried out in July with no CAR’s being issued.

Public Use of the Forests

Permitted public use of Wenita forests continues to be high, with the most popular activities being hunting and firewood collecting. The level of non-permitted use has 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 requested to ensure that they obtain a permit from our Mosgiel office before entering the forest.

Locked Gates

We continue to have incidents where members of the public have been locked behind gates. These incidents are frustrating, both for the public who get locked in and the staff or contractors who have to let them out.

The problem arises when members of the public either go into the forest without permission, or they have permission to go into a specified area and then stray into another area. Often they have strayed into an operational area and in doing so, are putting both themselves and forestry workers at risk.

In addition to this, the problem is made worse when key holders do not lock gates behind them when they go into the forest.

Monitoring

Species Survey

A detailed botanical survey of our unstocked natural areas is being undertaken. So far this survey has identified several specimens of the locally rare Oleria lineata in Berwick forest. Also in Berwick, a rare "raised bog" has been identified. The locations of these are now identified as protected areas on our operational maps.

NZ Falcon

NZ Falcon have been identified in our forests. Last breeding season several possible breeding pairs were spotted but we were only able to confirm one nesting site. With the next breeding season commencing in September, reports of possible falcon nesting sites would be appreciated. Our objective this season will be to get a fix on the numbers of breeding pairs in the forest and the number of chicks successfully fledged.

Environmental Incidents

There were 3 Environmental Incidents reported in the first 6 months of this year. They were:

  • A debris dam occuring where hauler ropes had been lowered across a stream which then went into flood. The Harvesting BMP has been updated to prevent this happening in future.
  • Soil disturbance within the riparian zone of a stream resulted in sediment entering the stream. Future training will highlight the rules for operations in the riparian zone.
  • Wrong signage was used on a possum poisoning operation. The rules for signage on poisoning operations have been revised.

Protecting Fish in our Forest

The following species of fish have all been identified in waterbodies within the Wenita estate.

  • Dusky galaxias
  • Common bully
  • Red fin bully
  • Lamprey
  • Short finned eel
  • Long finned eel
  • Banded kokopu
  • Koaro
  • Flathead galaxias
  • Inanga
  • Elonis galaxias
  • Brown trout
  • Perch
  • Brook char

How can we ensure that these species continue to thrive in waterbodies within the Wenita estate?

By protecting their habitat. That is by protecting the waterbodies and riparian margins. Protection measures are specified in Best Management Practices (BMP’s). By following BMP’s we will be ensuring that we are doing the best we can to protect rare fish in our forests.

How do we monitor our protection measures to ensure that they are working?

By auditing our performance against the BMP’s and by monitoring stream health using the Stream Health Monitoring and Assessment Kit (SHMAK). Occasionally DOC or other agencies will carry out a fish survey in a waterbody within the Wenita estate, this will also monitor the distribution of the above species and may occasionally identify new species.