Wilding Conifer Group chairman Peter Willsman, Queenstown Mayor Vanessa van Uden and Queenstown Lakes District Council district forester Briana Pringle made a presentation to the Otago Regional Council's long-term plan hearing via video conference yesterday.
Sixty-two of the 143 submissions made to the plan were on the need for wilding control.
Mr Willsman said the council's plan was devoid of any recognition of the threat to livelihoods wilding pines make.
He had heard the problem described as potentially dwarfing the rabbit problem in the high country if left uncontrolled.
"That could go out to $30 million-plus in the 10-year life of your plan."
He asked the council to reconsider its stance on wilding pines and "partner us in this winnable fight" by putting in a minimum of $60,000 and joining the Wilding Conifer Group, a public-private partnership.
Ms Pringle said in the three years she had been making submissions to the regional council, it had maintained that wilding control was the responsibility of the landowner, yet seeds spread across people's properties.
"The battle for control is now or it'll be too expensive, too big in a few years," she said.
There was immense community support for the control work, which many landowners could not afford to do themselves.
The Queenstown council put $129,000 towards wilding control and asked the regional council for a small contribution as well.
"The problem is not just in the Wakatipu."
Mayor van Uden said it was a region-wide issue "not altogether dissimilar to the Dunedin stadium".
The region's mayors were looking into setting up a trust to promote the issue and seek funding opportunities.
Next year, the council would probably get submissions from groups in Central Otago seeking assistance to control wildings in their area, she predicted.
Communities would not react badly to the council putting money towards wilding control, she said.
"One hundred and twenty-nine thousand dollars is a far bigger rate increase for us [than $60,000 is to you]."
Panel chairman Duncan Butcher said if the council funded the Wakatipu group, it would then face funding requests from other districts.
