Before a Special Tribunal Under the Resource Management Act 1991 In the matter of an application for a Water Conservation Order for the Ngaruroro River and Clive River Statement of Evidence of Rachel Katherine McClellan on behalf of New Zealand Fish and Game Council, Hawke's Bay Fish and Game Council, Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand, Jet Boating New Zealand, Whitewater NZ Incorporated and Ngāti Hori ki Kohupatiki 19 October 2017 Introduction 1 My name is Rachel McClellan. I am the principal avifauna ecologist with Wildland Consultants Ltd (Wildlands), based in Wellington. I have worked for Wildlands for eight years. I have undertaken avifauna work across New Zealand, including survey and monitoring, assessments of effects, threatened species monitoring and management, development of ecological significance criteria, and strategic and restoration plan development and implementation. 2 I have been engaged by Forest and Bird to provide expert evidence on birds in relation to the application of a Conservation Order for the Ngaruroro River, Hawke's Bay. 3 I visited sites along the length of the upper and lower Ngaruroro River on 3 October 2017. Qualifications and experience 4 I have the following qualifications and experience: (a) The degrees of Bachelor of Science in Zoology and Botany from Victoria University. (b) A Master of Conservation Science (with Distinction). My Masters thesis was on the breeding biology of the Nationally Vulnerable flesh-footed shearwater (Puffinus carneipus) on Karewa Island (Victoria University, 1996). (c) A PhD in Zoology. My PhD thesis investigated the ecology and management of the Nationally Critical black-billed gull (Larus bulleri) in Southland (University of Otago, 2009). 5 I am a member of the New Zealand Ecological Society and Birds New Zealand (brand name of the Ornithological Society of New Zealand). 6 I have prepared expert evidence for 11 Council and Environment Court hearings addressing issues such as river conservation orders, coastal subdivisions, mining applications, wind farms, hydropower proposals, and council plan changes. Hearings have included the provision of avifauna evidence for the Oreti Conservation Order hearing (for Fish and Game New Zealand), and for Meridian Energy’s North Bank Tunnel proposal on the braided Waitaki River (for the Lower Waitaki River Management Society). 7 I have considerable experience in river bird, seabird and shorebird ecology. I completed my PhD on the Nationally Critical black-billed gull, which examined population trends, the impacts of introduced and native predators, the impact of 12000434 | 3054124 page 1 flows on productivity, and the species’ relationship with agricultural ecosystems. Since then, I have remained involved with the monitoring and management of threatened bird species on braided rivers, including providing expert advice for the Department of Conservation’s braided rivers management plan. 8 I also supervised the establishment and ongoing operation of a blue duck (Hymenolaimus malacorhynchos) protection programme in the Oparara catchment, Kahurangi National Park, while working for the Department of Conservation in 2001-2004. This project has become one of New Zealand’s eight Security Sites for blue duck (I will discuss blue duck management in my main body of evidence). 9 Examples of other projects include: review of the Department of Conservation’s Fiordland crested penguin (Eudyptes pachyrhynchus) monitoring programme; review of the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust’s work on yellow-eyed penguins (Megadyptes antipodes) on Rakiura (Stewart Island); avifauna (including seabird) restoration and management components of the Department of Conservation’s Dusky Sound Restoration and Conservation plan, and the Project Janszoon restoration plan for Abel Tasman National Park; restoration plan for Long Point, Catlins, including reintroduction of seabird species including albatross; analysis of population trends of black-billed gulls in the South Island; aerial surveys of Canterbury rivers for black-billed gulls; and provision of expert evidence on the effects of the Rena wreck on seabirds and shorebirds. 10 While this is not a hearing before the Environment Court, I confirm that I have read the code of conduct for expert witnesses contained in the Environment Court Consolidated Practice Note (2014). I have complied with it when preparing my written statement of evidence and I agree to comply with it when presenting evidence. I confirm that the evidence and the opinions I have expressed in my evidence are within my area of expertise. I have not omitted to consider material facts known to me that might alter or detract from the opinions that I express. Scope of evidence 11 For the purpose of the Stage 1 hearing of this Water Conservation Order application, I have been directed to provide evidence on birds of the upper Ngaruroro River and its tributaries. The main waterbird of conservation interest in the upper Ngaruroro is the Nationally Vulnerable blue duck. Significant bird habitat and populations also exist in the lower river and these values will be addressed through the Stage 2 hearing. The scope of this statement of evidence is as follows: (a) Overview of bird habitats of the Ngaruroro catchment; (b) Relevant surveys and reports of upper Ngaruroro avifauna; 12000434 | 3054124 page 2 (c) The bird community of the Ngaruroro catchment; (d) Blue duck; and (e) Grey duck. Bird habitats of the Ngaruroro and its tributaries 12 The Ngaruroro River is one of the North Island’s largest braided rivers1. The river can be divided into four main sections: (a) The upper reaches of the river above the Whanawhana cableway (and its tributaries) which are mostly single channel. The upper reaches and tributaries flow through steep, rugged country which mostly comprises regenerating indigenous forest and scrub and some commercial pine plantations. The upper Ngaruroro and its many tributaries support the rare blue duck, a specialist species of waterfowl dependent on high quality, fast flowing water. (b) The reaches between Whanawhana and the Fernhill Bridge which are extensively braided. Hundreds of hectares of bare gravels are available for New Zealand’s specialist braided river bird species, all of which are Threatened or At Risk. This section also includes the only significant freshwater swamp associated with a river in Hawke's Bay2. Pigsty Swamp is an oxbow wetland created by movement of the river away from the location, and is located approximately six kilometres downstream of the Whanawhana cableway. (c) The reaches below Fernhill, which are more modified and mostly single channel. (d) The Waitangi Estuary and associated wetlands, including the gravel bars, and the Railway Wetland. A diverse range of bird species are found at this location. Some bird species that roost or breed at this location will forage in the lower Ngaruroro River, just as birds breeding in the lower Ngaruroro River may feed in the estuary and wetlands. 13 This evidence addresses the bird values of the upper Ngaruroro catchment. 1 Wilson G. 2001: National distribution of braided rivers and the extent of vegetation colonisation. Landcare Research Contract Report LC0001/068. Prepared for the Department of Conservation, Twizel. 2 Parrish G.R. 1988: Wildlife and wildlife habitat of Hawke’s Bay rivers. Science & Research Series 2. Department of Conservation, Wellington. 12000434 | 3054124 page 3 Relevant surveys and reports of upper Ngaruroro avifauna 14 Many of the reaches of the upper Ngaruroro River above the Whanawhana cableway have never been formally surveyed for birds, including blue duck. In contrast, six bird surveys of the lower Ngaruroro River have been undertaken in the years 1962, 1967, 1972, 1984, 1986, and 1993. A section of the lower Ngaruroro was also surveyed in 2010. However, several of the tributaries of the upper Ngaruroro were specifically surveyed for blue duck in the 1990s, and the blue duck population is now managed in the Ikawatea and Apias tributaries by the Department of Conservation working in partnership with a Maori Land Trust (see paragraphs 31-33). 15 Several assessments of the biodiversity values and, in particular, the bird values of the Ngaruroro have been completed. The first of these was the New Zealand Wildlife Service’s report in 1998 that, in addition to summarising survey results, also assessed the values of four Hawke's Bay rivers using the Sites of Special Wildlife Interest criteria. However, it did not specifically address the upper catchments of the river. 16 The second assessment was done as part of the Protected Natural Areas Programme in 1993, where the surveys assessed remaining natural areas within the Heretaunga Ecological District (including the lower Ngaruroro River, but not the upper catchment). 17 The most recent assessment was undertaken in 2012 using the River Values Assessment System (RiVAS), which applied criteria to assess existing value and potential value of every river in the Hawke's Bay for birds. It assessed the bird values of the upper Ngaruroro catchment separately from the lower Ngaruroro catchment. The RiVAS assessment is discussed in greater detail in paragraphs 55-63. 18 Two recent unpublished reports by independent consultants, Dr Brent Stephenson3 and Dr Richard Seaton4, specifically discuss the bird values of the Ngaruroro River. 19 Lastly, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council has published or commissioned several reports which summarise habitat and fauna values, condition, and management of the Ngaruroro