ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT OF THE WIDER TE PUNA AND WAIPAPA CATCHMENTS, WESTERN BAY OF PLENTY OCTOBER 2009 Report No. 2144 Prepared for: ENVIRONMENT BAY OF PLENTY P.O. BOX 364 WHAKATANE WILDLAND CONSULTANTS LTD, 558 MAUNGANUI ROAD, MT MAUNGANUI, TAURANGA 3116 Ph 07-574-2642; Fax 07-574-2643 HEAD OFFICE, 99 SALA STREET, P.O. BOX 7137, TE NGAE, ROTORUA 3042 Ph 07-343-9017, Fax 07-343-9018, email
[email protected], www.wildlands.co.nz © 2009 Contract Report No. 2144 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Environment Bay of Plenty commissioned Wildland Consultants Ltd to prepare an environmental assessment for the Te Puna and Waipapa catchments. A number of care groups are active in these catchments and the catchment management issues are representative and typical of many catchments between the Tauranga Harbour and the Kaimai Range. The project area is strategically important as it is contiguous with and includes the ‘Te Puna Ecological Corridor’ previously identified by Environment Bay of Plenty, the catchments drain into a well-used part of Tauranga Harbour, Whakamarama (in the upper catchment) is a major entry point to the Kaimai Forest Park, there is already a very high level of general community engagement, tangata whenua support is evident, and Omokoroa has been identified as an urban growth node. The physical character of the catchment environments, history of land use, current land cover, and current land management are key determinants of the types and geographic spread of biodiversity values and land management issues. Indigenous vegetation and habitats in the upper catchments have high biodiversity values, the streams are of high value as habitats for indigenous fish (and as migratory pathways to the upper catchments), and the receiving environments in the harbour are of very high value.