Wilding pine win comes with warning

The battle may have been won but there will be no resting on laurels for those trying to control wilding pines in the Shotover catchment.

The Otago Regional Council said the management of Shotover wilding conifers has moved to a maintenance only phase.

However, the hard-won milestone comes with a warning not to take a pause on this fast-spreading pest, Otago Regional Council chairwoman Gretchen Robertson said.

"Adequate funding is still needed to control seedling regrowth and to control wildings on neighbouring management areas so that wind-blown seed doesn’t re-infest the Shotover management area," she said.

The Shotover management area consisted of about 66,700ha in the Mt Aurum, Skippers and Macetown area.

Seeing the Shotover area move to the maintenance only stage is further proof that landscape scale control is achievable, she said, but funding for the work has to be maintained.

Whakatipu Wilding Control Group (WCG) credits the pest control win as a great example of what can be achieved with genuine collaboration between various groups.

The introduced conifer species were planted near the Skippers cemetery around 1880 with small plantings around buildings soon after.

By the mid-20th century, the spread was becoming apparent, with increasing concerns this iconic landscape, which hosts tens of thousands of visitors annually, would be irreparably changed.

After many years of wilding control, the area is moving into a maintenance only phase.

WCG chairman Grant Hensman said it was great to have something to celebrate.

"This success is due to the extensive, combined efforts of many over the years.

"No-one organisation or person can claim the gold medal for this, but rather we need to mint a truckload of bronzes," Mr Hensman said.

"The start of the maintenance only phase in this area is due to the removal of all known seeding trees and comes after 16 years of consistent effort. Repeat visits each year, diminishing in intensity, are programmed to mop up residual infestation.

"This is not without threats to success, chief among them budget cuts by government.

"Future generations should be grateful to the many people involved, but the irony is that when we do our job well, they won’t know what they almost lost and will rightly take as normal un-infested, native flora and fauna, never realising the cost and effort that went into preserving it for them."

The control programme had overcome significant challenges, such as access points along the 17.4 km historic Skippers Rd, hand-carved by miners over 140 years ago with sheer cliff faces and steep drops.

All the partners remain committed to protecting these iconic sites into the future.

A couple of tricky jobs are still left to tackle near coning wildings.