Crown Pastoral Land Tenure Review Lease name : LOCH LINNHE Lease number : PO 230 Conservation Resources Report - Part 1 As part of the process of Tenure Review, advice on significant inherent values within the pastoral lease is provided by Department of Conservation officials in the form of a Conservation Resources Report. This report is the result of outdoor survey and inspection. It is a key piece of information for the development of a preliminary consultation document. Note: Plans which form part of the Conservation Resources Report are published separately. These documents are all released under the Official information Act 1982. August 07 RELEASED UNDER THE OFFICIAL INFORMATION ACT DOC CONSERVATION RESOURCES REPORT ON TENURE REVIEW OF LOCH LINNHE PASTORAL LEASE (PAL 14-04-230) UNDER PART 2 CROWN PASTORAL LAND ACT DOCDM-370034 Loch Linnhe CRR - Updated Lizard Info. doc 1 RELEASED UNDER THE OFFICIAL INFORMATION ACT TABLE OF CONTENTS PART 1: INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................3 PART 2: INHERENT VALUES: DESCRIPTION OF CONSERVATION RESOURCES AND ASSESSMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE...................................................................................................5 2.1 LANDSCAPE............................................................................................................................5 2.2 LANDFORMS, GEOLOGY AND SOILS .....................................................................................13 2.3 LAND ENVIRONMENTS OF NEW ZEALAND (LENZ)..............................................................14 2.4 CLIMATE ..............................................................................................................................17 2.5 VEGETATION ........................................................................................................................17 2.5.1 Problem Plants.......................................................................................................................... 27 2.6 FAUNA .................................................................................................................................27 2.6.1 Invertebrates............................................................................................................................. 27 2.6.2 Herpetofauna and Amphibians ................................................................................................. 37 2.6.3 Avifauna................................................................................................................................... 40 2.6.4 Aquatic Fauna .......................................................................................................................... 42 2.6.5 Problem Animals...................................................................................................................... 47 2.7 HISTORIC..............................................................................................................................47 2.7.1 Maori Cultural Values.............................................................................................................. 47 2.7.2 Pakeha Heritage Values............................................................................................................ 47 2.8 PUBLIC RECREATION............................................................................................................59 PART 3: OTHER RELEVANT MATTERS & PLANS....................................................................65 3.1 CONSULTATION....................................................................................................................65 3.2 REGIONAL POLICY STATEMENTS & PLANS ..........................................................................66 3.3 DISTRICT PLANS...................................................................................................................66 3.4 CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES & PLANS .......................................................67 3.5 NEW ZEALAND BIODIVERSITY STRATEGY ...........................................................................69 PART 4: ATTACHMENTS .................................................................................................................70 4.1 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION .................................................................................................70 4.1.1 Conservation Resources of Adjoining Crown Land Reserved from Sale under Sec. 58 Land Act 1948 (Lake Edge) .............................................................................................................................. 70 4.1.2 References................................................................................................................................73 4.1.3 Appendices............................................................................................................................... 77 4.1.3 Photographs.................................................................................................................................. 4.2 ILLUSTRATIVE MAPS................................................................................................................ DOCDM-370034 Loch Linnhe CRR - Updated Lizard Info. doc 2 RELEASED UNDER THE OFFICIAL INFORMATION ACT PART 1: INTRODUCTION The lessees of Loch Linnhe Pastoral Lease (referred to in this report as “the Lease”) have applied to the Commissioner of Crown Lands for a review of the property’s pastoral lease tenure. Loch Linnhe Station is leased by Murray and Karen Scott, and Polson Higgs Nominees Ltd. The 11057 ha property straddles the Hector Mountains, from Lake Wakatipu in the west to the Nevis River in the east. The original homestead (now located on freehold land) is located beside Whittens Creek in the Nevis Valley, and was in use until the 1950s. The modern homestead, located off SH6, is approximately 28 km from Frankton and 9 km north of Kingston in Otago. The property comprises a long narrow strip (to 1100 m altitude) along the lake, extending from Wye Creek in the north to Staircase Creek. South of Staircase Creek, the property widens, extending eastwards right over the Hector Mountains to the Nevis Valley, encompassing a number of 2000 m peaks including James Peak (2072 m asl), and the catchments of Sproules Creek and Whittens Creek. Kingston Road (SH6) provides formed legal road access to the front country along the shores of Lake Wakatipu at the western end of the property, while the backcountry Nevis Road provides formed legal road access to its eastern boundary in the remote Nevis Valley. Altitude ranges between 311 m on the shores of Lake Wakatipu and 2072 m on the crest of the Harris Mountains. The Lease is made up of moderately steep glacially-worn lake faces which have been oversown and top-dressed (OSTD) up to about 1100 m; bluffs and rock outcrops at all altitudes, steep glaciated mountains and features, and includes part of the isolated backcountry Nevis Valley. The Lease lies within the Lakes Ecological Region and the Remarkables Ecological District. No Protected Natural Areas Survey Programme (PNAP) of the ecological district has been carried out. No parts of the Lease are currently subject to protection for conservation purposes. In 1974, the Land Settlement Board considered an application by the Mt Cook and Southern Lakes Tourist Co. Ltd for the development of a commercial skifield in the Rastus Burn, The Remarkables. As a consequence, a multi-disciplinary team investigated The Remarkables and Hector Mountains as far south as James Peak, and a comprehensive management report was published in 1977 by the Department of Lands & Survey. Adjoining the property to the north and south is the Remarkables Conservation Area (see Map 4.2.1(c)), of which The Remarkables (Loch Linnhe) Conservation Area (Conservation Management Strategy Number F40032) was retired from the Loch Linnhe Lease in the 1980s under a Soil & Water Conservation Plan. A conservation covenant on Glen Nevis Station adjoins the property along its southwestern boundary. There are Part DOCDM-370034 Loch Linnhe CRR - Updated Lizard Info. doc 3 RELEASED UNDER THE OFFICIAL INFORMATION ACT IVA Conservation Act 1987 marginal strips present along Wye Creek, Staircase Creek, Sproules Creek, Whittens Creek and Nevis River (see Maps 4.2.1(a) and (b)). There is some confusion as the land status of the strip of land between Lake Wakatipu and the western Lease boundary. The Status Report map (see Maps 4.1(a) and (b)) note it as “Crown Land reserved from sale under section 58 Land Act 1948”. This land is included in the tenure review of Loch Linnhe Pastoral Lease. The tenure review inspection of Loch Linnhe Pastoral Lease was undertaken on 29th January – 2nd February 2007 by a range of specialists. DOCDM-370034 Loch Linnhe CRR - Updated Lizard Info. doc 4 RELEASED UNDER THE OFFICIAL INFORMATION ACT PART 2: INHERENT VALUES: DESCRIPTION OF CONSERVATION RESOURCES AND ASSESSMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE 2.1 LANDSCAPE Landscape Context Loch Linnhe Pastoral Lease is located between Lake Wakatipu and the Nevis Valley. It extends from the Kingston Arm of Lake Wakatipu onto the Hector Mountains and east to include the summit ridge, and two catchments on the western side of the Nevis Valley. The Nevis River forms the eastern boundary. The Remarkables and Hector Mountains are major north-south trending mountains reaching 2234 m. The mountains separate Lake Wakatipu from the Nevis Valley. The