APPLICATION FORM RELEASE Application to import for release or to release from containment new organisms under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 Send by post to: Environmental Protection Authority, PO Box 131, Wellington 6140 OR email to: [email protected] Application number APP201171 Applicant Northland Regional Council Private Bag 9021 Whāngārei Mail Centre Whāngārei 0148 (09) 438 4639 Key contact Don McKenzie, Senior Biosecurity Programme Manager www.epa.govt.nz 2 Application to import for release or to release from containment new organisms Important This application form is to seek approval to import for release or release from containment new organisms (including genetically modified organisms). The application form is also to be used when applying to import for release or release from containment new organisms that are or are contained within a human or veterinary medicine. Applications may undergo rapid assessment at the Authority‟s discretion if they fulfil specific criteria. This application will be publicly notified unless the Authority undertakes a rapid assessment of the application. This application form will be made publicly available so any confidential information must be collated in a separate labelled appendix. The fee for this application can be found on our website at www.epa.govt.nz. If you need help to complete this form, please look at our website (www.epa.govt.nz) or email us at [email protected]. This form was approved on 21 September 2011. September 2011 EPA0059 3 Application to import for release or to release from containment new organisms 1. Brief application description Provide a short description (approximately 30 words) of what you are applying to do. This application seeks approval to import and release isolates of two rust fungi; Puccinia lantanae and Prospodium tuberculatum, as biological control agents for the weed Lantana camara. 2. Summary of application Provide a plain English, non-technical description of what you are applying to do and why you want to do it. A collective comprising 13 regional councils and the Department of Conservation (DOC) has determined that biological control is the most likely means of achieving environmentally acceptable and cost-effective management for the weed lantana (Lantana camara) in New Zealand. Northland Regional Council makes this application on their behalf. The application has been prepared with the assistance of Landcare Research. The Northland Regional Council (NRC) undertakes pest management to further the present and future social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being of its communities. It also carries out devolved functions where best placed to achieve national outcomes. The objectives of Northland‟s Regional Pest Management Strategy 2010–2015 (RPMS) are to avoid, remedy or mitigate the adverse effects of pest plants on the use of land, including effects on primary production and natural ecosystems, and to maintain Northland‟s biodiversity. Under the RPMS we identify lantana (Lantana camara) as a „containment plant‟‟. Containment plants are generally those pests that are not widespread, but are too abundant or widely distributed to allow eradication. The intention is to prevent the spread of these species beyond a defined containment area. Currently we regulate lantana by prohibiting its sale, transport and ownership, and by requiring landowners to manage any infestation. Biological control is an alternative tactic for that purpose. Lantana forms dense impenetrable thickets. It invades bush edges, pasture, roadsides, and wasteland where it displaces other vegetation. It is sometimes poisonous to stock and humans. Lantana is a major weed of both natural and agricultural ecosystems overseas and poses a future threat here. The heaviest infestations are located near old settlement areas around the Hokianga and Whangaroa harbours (e.g. Hill & Seawright 1983) and Houhora. Small infestations occur elsewhere in the Northland Region but are not well recorded. Ming & Albrecht (2004) modelled the invasion biology of lantana in the Hokianga and highlighted the importance of managing such small founder-sites at an early stage. NRC plans to contain lantana within the heavily infested area, and to apply early intervention to limit future invasion from small, poorly-known sites. Key tactics are: Free removal of infestations notified to NRC September 2011 EPA0059 4 Application to import for release or to release from containment new organisms Management of lantana populations north of Kaitaia to zero density (NRC 2005) Introduction of self-dispersing biological control to limit lantana fitness in as yet unknown sites region-wide Biological control introduces and establishes safe natural enemies that prey on and harm pest populations. Because these natural enemies are established in the environment, their effects are widespread and persist from year to year. This application proposes the introduction of Puccinia lantanae and Prospodium tuberculatum, two host-specific disease-causing organisms that will reduce the vigour and survival of the weed lantana wherever it occurs. The L. camara forms growing in New Zealand are susceptible to both Pu. lantanae (Ellison & Cortat 2011) and Pr. tuberculatum (Riding & Day 2006) and there are no climatic barriers to establishment (Section 3). With slightly different performance optima, the two rusts should complement each other, causing partial or complete defoliation of all lantana plants in Northland. In the glasshouse the rusts can co-exist on the same L. camara leaf (Sarah Thomas, CABI, pers. comm.). Defoliation by rusts is expected to reduce the growth rate of the weed and reduce fruit production. In addition, Pu. lantanae is expected to become systemic, causing dieback and probably plant deaths. Biological control could permanently regulate lantana, and help to rebalance affected ecosystems. The expected positive effects of biological control of lantana include: Reduced invasion of uninfested land Reduced damage to native ecosystems Reduced control costs to farms businesses and communities Reduced incidence of stock and human poisoning Improved allocation of resources to maintain biodiversity values Introduced natural enemies must be safe if this is to be an environmentally acceptable solution. Significant adverse effects on the environment or on productive values would occur if these rusts significantly damaged valued non- target plants. Tests assessed the risk that these two rust fungi pose to New Zealand plants. These were conducted by CSIRO (in Australia) and by CABI (in the UK) using methods consistent with international best practice. Large numbers of viable spores were applied to the foliage of test plants. After approximately six weeks the test plants were closely examined for signs of infection. Susceptible lantana plants inoculated with either rust became heavily infected whereas, with one exception relevant to New Zealand, non-target test plants did not. The application presents evidence that Pr. tuberculatum will not damage plants other than Lantana camara. The only non-target plant growing in cultivation or in the wild in New Zealand that is slightly susceptible to P. lantanae is Verbena officinalis. This plant is not native and is not an economically significant species here. We conclude that the risk to valued native and economic plants in New Zealand is insignificant. September 2011 EPA0059 5 Application to import for release or to release from containment new organisms No significant adverse environmental or economic effects are likely. As NRC is targeting lantana before it generates significant environmental and economic costs here, estimates of the potential environmental and economic benefits of biological control based on existing effects are modest. 3. Describe the background and aims of the application This section is intended to put the new organism(s) in perspective of how they will be used. You may use more technical language but please make sure that any technical words used are included in a glossary. The aim of this project is to reduce the ability of lantana to grow, shade out desirable plants, produce seeds that can be spread by birds, and invade new sites. Lantana is a sprawling, smelly, prickly shrub that grows up to 3 m tall, with clusters of yellow and pink or orange flowers. It forms dense thickets that overtop and shade out shorter vegetation in habitats such as forest margins, native scrub and plantations. Lantana can form the dominant subcanopy of manuka/kanuka shrublands. It is thought to be allelopathic, chemically suppressing underlying vegetation and modifying ecosystem processes at all trophic levels (ISSG 2006). This weed is abundant in parts of Northland, and is an emerging weed in the Auckland, Bay of Plenty and Wellington regions. It threatens the values of reserved land managed by DOC and regional councils (Appendix 1), particularly vulnerable island and coastal habitats (e.g. M Sheehan, Ririwha Restoration Trust, Appendix 1). Thickets restrict movement of stock and people, and some varieties of lantana can poison grazing stock. It invades pastoral land, reducing the productivity of some Northland farms. Lantana fruits heavily, and seeds are spread widely by birds. Plants sucker from shallow roots, and it is difficult to control either by herbicides or by any other means. Although heavy infestations are restricted to Northland, further south the management of this emerging weed is a growing cost to regional councils and DOC (Appendix