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Canterbury Aoraki Conservation Board Minutes August 2009

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Canterbury Aoraki Conservation Board Minutes August 2009 Minutes of a meeting of the Canterbury Aoraki Conservation Board held on Friday 21 August at the Canterbury Conservancy Office, 195 Hereford Street Christchurch 1. Karakia Wiki Baker opened the meeting with a karakia. 2. Present and apologies Board: Steve Lowndes (Chaiman) Wiki Baker Mandy Waaka Home Peter Foley Dr John Keoghan Joseph Hullen Mal Clarbough DOC Staff: Richard McNamara (Area Manager Aoraki) George Hadler (Area Manager Raukapuka) Cheryl Colley Mike Cuddihy (part) Brenda Preston Steve Sharman (presentation) Kingsley Timpson Public: Michael Sleigh (presentation) Apologies: Jimmy Wallace Ines Stäger Rob Young Bryan Jensen Fiona Musson 3. Declarations of conflict of interest No conflicts of interest were declared. 4. Confirmation of minutes of 11 June 2009 The board discussed the format of the minutes and were asked if they were satisfied with the current format. Consensus was that the minutes provided a good a record to refer to at a later date. Recommendation That the board confirm the minutes of the Board Meeting of 11 June 2009 as a true and correct record of that meeting. John Keoghan/Peter Foley Carried Docdm-486295 1 5. Matters arising from previous minutes Mal asked if minutes were on the website. Brenda said after the minutes are confirmed they are sent to be put on the website. 6. Late agenda items and any matters to raise from the board’s informal meeting Kiwi crèche at Craigieburn Forest Park Board members discussed the New Zealand Conservation Trust’s proposal to establish a kiwi crèche in the Craigieburn Forest Park. Given the limit of great dpotted kiwi and the threat faced by the two neighbouring kiwi species, the Haast Tokoeka and the Okarito brown both of whose populations are both under 1000 each, the board believes it would better to address the conservation of both these species as well as the great spotted kiwi. Concern was also expressed regarding the commercial arrangement for funding and advocacy between the New Zealand Conservation Trust and Willowbank. The question of whether or not Craigieburn Forest was the correct place to site a kiwi crèche was also discussed. Board members said that little pockets of native bush such as Lords Bush could be looked at. The main concern to the board is that the Craigieburn valley is not suitable habitat for great spotted kiwi as it is at the moment because it is predominantly beech forest. Recommendation: That the Canterbury Aoraki Conservation Board, in conjunction with the West Coast Tai Poutini Conservation Board, communicate by letter, its desire for the inclusion of incubation and crèche facilities specifically designated for Okarito brown and Haast tokoeka eggs, collected as part of Operation Nest Egg within the proposed New Zealand Conservation Trust kiwi facility at Craigieburn Forest Park. Joseph Hullen/Wiki Baker Carried 7. Section 4 matters No section 4 matters were raised. 8. Canterbury Conservator’s verbal report and update from Area Managers Mike Cuddihy addressed the Board on the following matters: Wild Animal Recovery Operators Process (WARO) Canterbury Conservancy is leading the national reissue of the 5 year wild animal control WARO permits. This is hunting for venison recovery and is a Docdm-486295 2 two step process whereby the department puts out a framework for comment. A second set of WARO guidelines was produced on a CD that showed the land that was offered for this activity along with a draft concession that tidied up and strengthened some of the enforcement provisions which the department needed to deal with. Through that process people were invited to send in their views and the department received 105 submissions which covered the spectrum from recreational hunters through to helicopter operators and factories. Te Rūnanga has also been provided with the opportunity to comment as part of the department’s section 4 consultation. To date the department hasn’t received a Ngāi Tahu response. Heli-hunting Heli-hunting is being treated as a separate activity that will be processed as publicly notified concessions. Draft Aircraft Guidelines The department published the Canterbury pre-consultative Draft Aircraft Access Guidelines which offers a spectrum of zones in Canterbury for: – regular landings, – seasonal landings; through to – no aircraft access Aircraft operators have realised that the new Aircraft Access Guidelines will have an impact on how they operate heli-hunting activities in the future. This has galvanised people to say whether or not this is going to have an impact on their industry and engage in discussion with the department. Currently in its pre-consultative phase, the results of this work will eventually be included in the CMS when it is formally notified next year. St James Discussion Paper Kaikoura Rūnanga was involved in the stakeholder field trip to St James and has been involved in discussions over the St James discussion paper. The document has been widely distributed and has also been provided to Te Rūnanga for comment. The issue which has caught most people’s attention has been the horses and the intention to maintain a small managed herd of horses in the wild. The other major issues the department has received feedback on are mountain biking and the proposed cycle track. Some of the issues which received the greatest interest were: – huts in the St James – fishing and aircraft access – wild animal control – the proposal to zone the top part of the St James closed to aircraft but the bottom part open. The deadline for feedback concludes on 14 September. Docdm-486295 3 Akaroa Harbour Marine Reserve Last week, the Minister of Conservation, Tim Groser, and department staff attended a meeting at Akaroa to look at the proposed Akaroa Harbour Marine Reserve. The department and the Minister first met with the applicants and listened to their comments in support of the marine reserve application. This was followed by a visit to Onuku Marae to listen to the concerns of the local Rūnanga and recreational fishers. Because this process had been ongoing for 13 years Tim Groser has made a commitment to provide a decision within the next 12 months. The department still needs to finish its report to the Minister and there is some work to do before that is completed. The report will then go to the Minister, who will read it, consider it, engage in whatever discussions he feels necessary and pass it onto the Minister of Fisheries for concurrence. Lake Heron and the crossing An application for Resource Consent for the work to extend the road at Lake Heron to Harrisons Bight is currently with the Regional Council. Whether that will require a notification process or not is unknown at this stage. The Conservation Economy Paper 2009/065 contains the basis of a speech given by the Director General of Conservation to a symposium in Dunedin. Mike Cuddihy suggested the board set aside some time to discuss the content of the Director General’s speech on the conservation economy at a future meeting. Mike said the basis of the paper’s premise is trying to get a better understanding of conservation which, as the Minister says, is “not simply a worthwhile social cost but an investment in the economy and healthy ecosystems” and the services they provide in an agricultural country like New Zealand which are the basis of our agriculture and the basis of our tourism. St James Horses The Purchase Agreement for St James Station included an assurance that the stallions be removed and the mares left to live out their lives. Once that became public knowledge it was discussed in the media and the department subsequently received a number of representations in the form of letters and emails from people saying they got a lot enjoyment out of having a small herd of horses at St James. After re-examining the department’s original philosophy the decision was made to allow ninety horses to remain on the property as a managed herd. Steve Lowndes referred to the department’s media release on the purchase and future management of St James Station. He said there were 17 bullet points which all seem to refer to recreation and economic benefit and almost as an afterthought at the end didymo and weed control are mentioned. Kingsley Timpson, Waimakariri Area Manager, said the media release was a response Docdm-486295 4 to issues people were asking questions on but in no way should it be inferred that the natural values are any less important. George Hadler – Raukapuka Area Office Operational George Hadler, Area Manager Raukapuka reported on the Peel Forest Camp Ground upgrade. He said that staff are still working very hard to refurbish the motor camp at Peel Forest which is the only fully serviced campground managed by the department in Canterbury. One of the key aspects of the upgrade is converting the electric water heating to solar and gas which so that it meets the department’s sustainability goals. In addition, disabled facilities are also being provided at the motor camp. Animal pests The key aspect of this work in the last two months has been the wallaby control in the Hunter Hills. That work has been carried out in conjunction with Twizel Area staff. Some vegetation monitoring has been carried out for thar in Carney’s Creek in the Havelock catchment. Back country hut upgrade and maintenance Most of the huts requiring upgrade and maintenance have come out of Tenure Review on the former Mesopotamia Station land in the new conservation park. Canterbury mudfish work at Dog Kennel Stream Staff have completed work on mudfish at Dog Kennel Stream which is adjacent to the Waitaki River near Waimate. A site has also been evaluated adjacent to the Arowhenua Marae with a view to translocating mudfish to that site.
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