If you’ve been up in the hills on the eastern side of Tasman lately, you’ll have seen some noticeable progress on our wilding conifer control works. The sight of ginger and grey conifers across the landscape means good results in halting the spread of these unwanted wilding trees.
It’s been a successful summer control season across the Mt Richmond Management Unit, with the majority of funding provided by the National Wilding Conifer Control Programme (through Biosecurity New Zealand), which contributed a total of $370,000 for the current financial year.
Recent control work has been completed across several priority areas, including an area around Mount Starveall, predominantly within ultramafic ecosystems (see photo below), as well as west of and along the Beeby’s ridgeline.
The Beeby’s work involved large‑scale control of former NZ Forest Service plantings from the 1970s and 1980s, and included helicopter operations due to the scale, terrain, and density of infestations.
Further control work is planned within the Wairoa Gorge, focusing on the continued reduction of Douglas fir, which poses a significant risk of spreading into the Red Hills / Maungakura.
This work and funding are critical to protecting nationally significant indigenous landscapes and ultramafic ecosystems, preventing further wilding conifer spread, and avoiding substantially higher long‑term control costs.
Early and sustained intervention helps maintain biodiversity values and landscape integrity, and reduces future pressure on scarce funding sources.