A farming leader says the sector is ‘‘extremely delighted’’ there has been recognition of the role livestock can play in managing the environment — controlling weeds and willows, and enabling the river to move as it should.
Maniototo Basin farmer Emma Crutchley, who is also a director of Irrigation New Zealand and Federated Farmers Otago arable chairwoman, said creating a bespoke management plan to protect the upper Taieri River’s scroll plain presented an opportunity for community engagement and for the area’s management plan to include ‘‘the tools we need in the toolbox’’.
‘‘And one of those tools is livestock grazing.’’
The Resource Management (Stock Exclusion) Regulations 2020 included a suite of stock exclusion rules that were not only unworkable, but would have harmed the area.
‘‘There are so many ‘mini wetlands’ within the Upper Taieri Scroll Plain that it was easier to fence off the whole scroll plain.
‘‘And there are a huge amount of unintended consequences with that approach.’’
Creating a workable management plan ‘‘needs everyone in the room’’.
This was ‘‘because there’s so many values that you’re trying to balance’’.
‘‘You’re trying to balance hydrology, water quality, water quantity, biodiversity, and bring all those things together to get a balance of outcomes of what is best for the scroll plains.
‘‘Those are really, really tough conversations, but the way to get the best outcomes is for everyone to be in the same room.’’
The Otago Regional Council yesterday released a letter from Environment Minister David Parker and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor, and the council’s reply, as it announced it had committed to working with iwi and the local community to develop a plan for the area as an alternative to the stock exclusion regulations.
‘‘The scroll plains are home to a diverse assemblage of habitats including highly valued plant, insect and freshwater species,’’ she said.
‘‘Extensive cattle grazing has been interwoven in this very dry-farmed landscape over many decades.’’
Cr Robertson said grazing could be allowed where it enhanced wetland values and removed where it was not helpful.
She also said fencing was not being ruled out for some of the fragile scroll plains areas.
In her letter to the ministers last month, Cr Robertson said the council was committed to developing and implementing a plan for the area by July 1, 2025.
Its plan would be designed to improve the wetlands and would include a monitoring and evaluation plan ‘‘to ensure the impacts of grazing in the scroll plain are understood and actively managed’’.
In their letter to the council, the ministers acknowledged the size and complexity of the wetlands.
It was a unique environment ‘‘particularly challenging for excluding stock’’.
‘‘We also understand that the threat of pest species to the health of the wetlands has historically been effectively managed through controlled grazing of cattle.’’
