BEFORE THE SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR THE NGARURORO AND CLIVE RIVERS WATER CONSERVATION ORDER IN THE MATTER of the Resource Management Act 1991 AND IN THE MATTER of a Special Tribunal appointed under section 202 of the Act to consider an application for a Water Conservation Order made by New Zealand Fish and Game, the Hawkes Bay Fish and Game Council, Ngati Hori ki Kohupatiki, Whitewater New Zealand, Jet Boating New Zealand, and the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand (the Applicants) in relation to the Ngaruroro River and Clive River. STATEMENT OF EVIDENCE OF SHONA CLAIRE MYERS FOR THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL CONSERVATION Ecology Department of Conservation QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE 1. My full name is Shona Claire Myers. 2. I hold the degrees of Bachelor of Science and Master of Science (First Class Honours) in ecology and botany. I am the Director and Principal Ecologist of Myers Ecology Ltd. I have been a self-employed ecologist and running my own ecology company since October 2015. I have over 30 years' experience as an ecologist and have been employed by regional and central government agencies, and more recently in private consultancy. 3. Prior to running my own company, I was employed by the Department of Conservation as a Resource Management Advisor, assisting with prioritisation of the Department's resource management advocacy work, and with the Department’s refresh of the NZ Biodiversity Strategy. I was previously employed by the former Auckland Regional Council, as Group Manager Heritage. In that role, I managed natural and cultural heritage teams undertaking biodiversity and heritage conservation work throughout the Auckland region. I have also previously been employed as a senior ecologist at Wildlands Consultants in Auckland, as a scientist with the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, a conservation officer with the Department of Conservation, and as a natural heritage scientist and natural heritage team leader with the former Auckland Regional Council. 4. I am an Honorary Life Member of the New Zealand Ecological Society, and a past- president and past secretary of that society. I am also a committee member of the Auckland Botanical Society, and a member of the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network and the New Zealand Wetland Trust. I am the immediate Past President of the International Association for Ecology (INTECOL) and was president of INTECOL from 2013 to August 2017, and a Board member since 2009. 5. I have undertaken ecological surveys in many parts of New Zealand including forests, shrublands, wetlands and coastal ecosystems. I was involved in developing the Protected Natural Areas Programme and the first national wetland inventory (WERI) in the 1980s. 1 6. I published a major review of protection mechanisms for wetlands in NZ in 2013. I am currently working with Greater Wellington Regional Council to develop ecological monitoring programmes for measuring the state and condition of wetlands in Wellington. I am a joint author of the DOC guidelines on assessing ecological significance. CODE OF CONDUCT 7. I have read and agree to comply with the Code of Conduct for Expert Witnesses produced by the Environment Court. My qualifications as an expert are set out above. Other than any matters identified within my evidence as being from other experts, I confirm that the issues addressed in this brief of 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 expressed. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 8. The ecological, botanical and freshwater values of the Kaweka Lakes are of outstanding significance. The lakes clearly have characteristics as described in Section 199 of the RMA including outstanding habitat for terrestrial and aquatic organisms and outstanding scientific and ecological values. The reasons for my assessment are for the following combination of values. 9. The lakes and surrounding vegetation contain a high diversity of vegetation types (aquatic, sedgeland, shoreline, seral shrubland, pumice filled hollows, forest remnants). A large number of indigenous plant species and vegetation types are present for a relatively small catchment area. The lakes are surrounded by indigenous vegetation, and contain intact sequences from aquatic ecosystems to freshwater wetland to terrestrial shrubland and forest habitats. Lakes and wetlands with a primarily indigenous vegetation catchment and intact sequences such as this are now nationally rare. 10. Eight nationally Threatened and At Risk indigenous plant species have been recorded in the area, including one Nationally Endangered species, three Nationally Vulnerable species, and four At Risk species (Clarkson and Druce 1984, Townsend et al. 2008). 2 11. The lakes contain native aquatic charophyte meadow communities which are an indicator of good water quality and intact ecological integrity. The Lake SPI Index for the Western Lake, an indicator of overall lake condition, has been measured as excellent. 12. There is a large population of the nationally At Risk indigenous fish species, koaro (Galaxias brevipinnis) (threat status: declining) in the Eastern Lake1. Longfin eels (Anguilla dieffenbachii) (at risk declining) are thought to be present in the catchment of the lakes. The macroinvertebrate communities are in good condition with a healthy population of species found in lakes (such as damselflies, dragonflies, Chironomids)2. 13. The complex of lakes and surrounding wetland and shrubland ecosystems meet all of the criteria for assessing ecological significance set by the Department of Conservation, and are of high ecological value. 14. The lakes meet three of the four national priorities for protecting indigenous biodiversity (MFE and DOC 1987), as they contain extensive indigenous wetland vegetation; naturally uncommon ecosystem types (shoreline communities); and a number of At Risk and Threatened species. SCOPE OF EVIDENCE 15. The Director General of Conservation is supporting an application by New Zealand Fish and Game and Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society for a Water Conservation Order for the Ngaruroro River including all waters above the Whanawhana cableway. Included in the upper catchment of the Ngaruroro River are the Kaweka Twin Lakes. My evidence describes the outstanding ecological values and significance of the Kaweka Lakes. My evidence covers the following matters: • Ecological context and values of the lakes; • Ecological significance of the lakes; 1 Pers. comm. Tom Drinan, Technical Advisor, Freshwater, Department of Conservation 2 Pers. comm. Tom Drinan, Technical Advisor, Freshwater, Department of Conservation 3 • Outstanding values of the lakes with respect to the proposed water conservation order. ECOLOGICAL CONTEXT AND VALUES 16. The lakes lie on the western edge of the Maungaharuru Ecological District (bordering Kaimanawa Ecological District) in the Hawkes Bay Ecological Region (McEwen 1987). The Kaweka Lakes (Roto Tuna and Roto Roa) are two small lakes (8ha and 5ha) located at 677m in the southern half of Kaweka Forest Park (see Annexure A and B, for topographical and aerial maps of the lakes, and Annexure C for photographs of the lakes). They were formed as a result of damning of two stream valleys by debris from a slip many thousands of years ago. A botanical survey recognising the lakes special ecological and botanical values was first undertaken by Botany Division, DSIR in 1984 (Clarkson and Druce 1984). They contain a diversity of shoreline lacustrine3 and sedgeland wetland communities, and seral shrubland habitats. The lakes are surrounded by native vegetation, and contain intact sequences from aquatic ecosystems to terrestrial shrubland and forest habitats. 17. In New Zealand, wetlands are a threatened ecosystem type with less than 10% of their original extent remaining (Ausseil et al. 2011; Myers et al. 2013). Freshwater wetlands are now estimated to cover only 1% of the New Zealand land mass (Ausseil et al. 2008), and the rate and extent of wetland loss have been recognised as among the highest in the world (Mitsch and Gosselink, 2000; Myers et al. 2013). Only 3% of the extent of freshwater wetlands is remaining in the Hawkes Bay biogeographic unit. (Ausseil et al. 2008). The Kaweka Lakes are diverse and intact ecosystems, and are important examples of the remaining wetlands and lakes in the region and nationally. 18. The western lake has a fluctuating water level with a gravelly and sandy shoreline with fringing lake edge wetland vegetation comprising herbfields and sedgelands (Clarkson and Druce 1984). The lake level of the eastern lake is relatively stable and is surrounded 3 Wetlands associated with the waters, beds and immediate margins of lakes (Johnson and Gerbeaux 2004) 4 by Baumea (Machaerina rubignosa) sedgeland. Secondary kanuka- manuka shrubland surrounds the catchment of the lakes. 19. The lakes contain a diversity of vegetation types dominated by native species (Clarkson and Druce 1984). These range from submerged aquatic plants, fringing wetland sedegland communities and shrubland and forest habitats. The lakes contain native aquatic charophyte species which are an indicator of good water quality and intact ecological integrity. The Western Lake contains intact Charophyte meadows with native Charophyte species, pondweeds, and water milfoils4. The exotic curled pondweed (Potamogeton crispus) and water buttercup (Ranunculus trichophyllus) are also found in the Western Lake. 20. A high diversity of vegetation