NZARM Broadsheet Newsletter of the New Zealand Association of Resource Managerment
ISSUE 24 August 2014
Progress with a National Land Use Capability Extended Legend Background One of the five recommendations from the 2012 meeting of collaborators and stakeholders on the future maintenance and development of the Land Use Capability (LUC) system was that Landcare Research takes the lead in developing a national Land Use Capability extended legend.
The editor’s note, and the recent establishment of “conversations on LUC and farm planning”, in Issue 23 of Broadsheet, confirms the worth of such an objective. One of the questions addressed by Garth and Norm in “conversations”, was “how can I use the NZLRI data for my farm plan?” This note summarises progress on establishing a national LUC extended legend, how we see the project evolving in future, and seeks your collective input to shape its content and direction. The ultimate goal is to have the national extended legend accessible through a website, with a spatial interactive search capability to assist LUC mappers in their work. Current Situation The LUC classification system has been used widely in New Zealand since the 1950s, for mapping physical attributes of land that affect its productive use. The mapping methods and LUC classification system are independent of scale so are equally applicable at the farm, catchment, regional and national scale. LUC is also frequently quoted in central, territorial and local government policies, e.g. in the Horizons One Plan. Currently there are 12 regional or island-wide New Zealand Land Resource Inventory (NZLRI) LUC regions for which extended legends (and bulletins) have been established and published, (see accompanying Figure). A major problem is that in the extended legends, many identical LUC codes refer to different types of land depending on which region they are part of. In addition four of these regions (Northland, Wellington, Gisborne-East Coast and Marlborough) have been remapped with new extended legends in Edition 2, and the Waikato regional extended legend has been ….continued on page 3
Source: Lynn et al. (2009.)
Inside Letters to the Editor .03 Northern Vietnam from a Resource Management Perspective...03 Behaviour Change in Agriculture . .06 Conversations on LUC mapping, No.2 ... .07
NZARM Conference Programme Regional Roundup President’s Comment
..09 ...13 . 16
NZARM The New Zealand Association of Resource Management (NZARM) is an incorporated society that provides support and focus for people who share a professional interest in the sustainable management of New Zealand’s natural resources. NZARM’s purpose is to champion the resource management cause, to promote professionalism, and to maintain a strong community spirit of meeting, sharing, and generally having a good time. Members receive benefit through an annual conference, regional workshops, a Broadsheet newsletter three times each year, and the opportunity to become a recognised professional and accredited practitioner of resource management. Further information, including membership registration details, can be obtained from the NZARM website (www.nzarm.org.nz) or by contacting the secretary:
The Secretary C/- NZARM PO Box 4315 Hamilton East HAMILTON 3247
Editor’s note Dear NZARM’ers Welcome to your (a bit late) August issue, full, fit to burst with content which is very pleasing to see. A few quick issues to discuss, firstly, and most obviously by the picture below, Broadsheet editor. It occurred to me whilst preparing this Broadsheet that I’ve been in the role for five years. It hasn’t really felt that long to be honest. After recovering from this realisation, the feeling that it was probably time for some fresh blood to fill the role became difficult for me to ignore. So. The call goes out– who amongst you is bold, brave and courageous enough to stick your head above the parapet? Actually, its not all that bad, in fact the benefits are great and the work not that onerous. You get an appreciation of the work going on around the country, it gives you a great opportunity to broaden your network and to top it off you get your own thrice yearly rant/ editorial. Sold? Do get in touch then.
Secondly, there is actually a NZARM conference going on in October in Wellington which is actually going to be rather good. I should know, I’m helping organise it. The theme, “Engagement, Collaboration, Action” is one we are all able to relate to and we’re hoping this will profile what work is happening at the coal face in resource management, how are the new directions in national policy being implemented on the ground Are they effective, and are they working? To top it off we have three great keynote speakers to set the tone of the conference; Dr William Rolleston, new president of Federated Farmers, Alison Dewes from Headlands Consulting, and Rod Oram, possibly NZ preeminent rural and economic journalist. I look forward to seeing you all there. Tony Faulkner
BROADSHEET BROADSHEET is the newsletter of the New Zealand Association of Resource Management. It is now published three times per year. The Editor welcomes correspondence, reviews of recent publications, interim reports of current research or resource management issues, news items, other articles, and lighter items about members activities and career movements. An invitation to make submissions to Broadsheet is sent out 2 – 4 weeks prior to the publication date. However, SUBMISSIONS CAN BE MADE TO THE EDITOR AT ANY TIME. Generally submissions are sent to NZARM regional coordinators or directly to the Editor. Copy sent by E-mail is preferred, although typed copy is also acceptable. Items can be sent to:
Tony Faulkner Team Leader - Planning Services Greater Wellington Regional Council 34 Chapel Street Masterton DDI 06 826 1563 Mob 0272175169 Fax 06 378 2146 Email tony.faulkner@gw.govt.nz
Note that Broadsheet articles and photos are protected by copyright. Authors must be consulted before their articles are cited in publications. Unless specifically indicated otherwise, opinions expressed in the Broadsheet are not to be regarded as the official view of the Association.
ISSN 1172-9139 (Print) ISSN 1178-3958 (Online)
Courtesy of Andrew Manderson... Page 2
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Progress with a National LUC Extended Legend ...continued from front page upgraded. Furthermore, most of these LUC regions no longer coincide with the current administration boundaries of regional councils or unitary authorities. There is also a need to establish a standard hierarchical procedure to subdivide regional LUC units, and/or create new LUC units for undescribed or poorly described terrain, particularly for more detailed farm-scale mapping. Progress Ian Lynn and James Barringer (Landcare Research, Lincoln), have compiled a first draft of a correlated, amalgamated and rationalised set of LUC units from the various regional extended legends into a single New Zealand wide set of LUC units, for ease of use across the whole country. This first cut gives some 833 New Zealand wide LUC units. This gross number seems to be in the right ballpark considering that: • the 1st-edn correlation for the North Island had 443 North Island correlated LUC units (Page 1985), • three North Island regions now have 2nd-edn coverage, with increases in number of LUC units: Northland (1st edn 69, 2nd edn 91 = +22); Gisborne-East Coast (1st edn 54, 2nd edn 104 = +50); Wellington (1st edn 43, 2nd edn 70 = +27), • an extra 19 LUC units where established for the 2ndedn 1:63 360 coverage in the Waikato Region, resulting in an extra 118 North Island LUC units, plus • the addition of the South Island LUC units (219) and • 154, 2nd-edn LUC units for the Marlborough Region. There is considerable potential for further amalgamation of units. Odd entries etc., have been flagged, and potential difficulties with the spatial representation of correlated units recognised, e.g. where North Island correlation units have been divided by rainfall. These issues will be addressed when incorporating user feedback within further iterations of the national legend. The level of further amalgamation depends on the level of differentiation/distinction that is considered necessary by regional councils and other users. This is one of the areas were we need your input. The intention with this national extended legend is to retain the history of LUC unit descriptions and codes – so that practitioners will be able to easily track the pedigree of the “new” national units back to their regional-legend roots, knowing for example that:
BROADSHEET is available electronically in full colour. Download from www.nzarm.org.nz
National legend LUC code
6e89
Description
Rolling to moderately steep stabilised sand dunes. Soils are very free draining with frequent periods of soil moisture deficiency. There is a potential for moderate wind erosion.
North Island correlation
6e90
Northland
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Waikato
-
Coromandel
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Bay of Plenty
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Eastern Bay of Plenty
-
Gisborne-East Coast
6e25
Northern Hawke’s Bay
6e13
Southern Hawke’s BayWairarapa
6e14
Wellington
6e5
TaranakiManawatu
6e24
South Island
-
Marlborough
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This should minimise difficulties for practitioners with changes in classification. The other objective we have been working towards – and where your input is critical – is the establishment of a standard hierarchical procedure to subdivide regional units, and/or create new LUC units for undescribed or poorly described terrain, for use at more detailed scales of mapping. This point was also highlighted by Garth and Norm, as was the issue of having individual mappers developing their own classifications. Procedure for Establishing LUC Units Use of the existing regional classifications (now incorporated into the national extended legend) as the basis for establishing or creating new LUC units for more detailed mapping is outlined in sections 4.3 and 4.4 of the LUC Handbook (Lynn et al. 2009). Regional (national) LUC units may be modified if opportunities for more targeted conservation or management can be identified through more detailed mapping, e.g., subdividing hill-scape units according to shady and sunny aspects. ...continued on page 5
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Letters to the Editor Dear Editor Re benefits of being a member of NZARM I feel impelled to write a note in relation to what benefits should accrue from being a member of NZARM and more importantly in relation to the Broadsheet and who should have access to this information. The present web site covers most aspects of NZARM”s objectives which has 8 key areas one can visit namely the home page, about us, publications, events, news, Join, contact us and lastly members area. This provides a good overview to someone who may not have visited the web site before. Furthermore, the membership page highlights some of the benefits of being a member and outlines nine important aspects one of which is to receive the Broadsheet at least 3-4 times a year to keep up to date with association activities. Now the broadsheet is available on line and this has some real cost saving benefits to NZARM and I am very supportive of this. However, in the past I have suggested to the executive that only paid up full members of NZARM should receive the broadsheet as that is one of the perks of paying our annual subscription and being a member. This was not an issue before when all Broadsheet copies once printed were individually posted out to members. If we want to attract new members especially the younger aged group then we need to demonstrate the special merits of the organisation and benefits of belonging. Further to the above comments I find now that anyone can surf the NZARM website and even under the “members area” one can access and read recent issues of the broadsheet. So why be a member if free access is available.? Possibly after 12 months time previous copies of the Broadsheet could be openly viewed on line but in the meantime as a member I feel there should be some controls as it supports one of the benefits of being a member. I am not sure how many other members agree with me on this matter but some feedback would be greatly received. Murray Harris Dunedin
NORTHERN VIETNAM FROM A RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE Intrepid NZARM reporter Lee Whiley fires another missive, this time from Vietnam
When my old sediment control buddy Richard asked if I could handle an off road motorbike tour of northern Vietnam, “Piece of cake”, I said. I had after all owned a Triumph Tiger Cup 200cc bike back in my Lincoln days and really enjoyed riding farm bikes while doing my farm practical work. Thought I was pretty good at it back in the day but 40 years is a long time off the saddle! Jetting into Hong Kong at 10pm on our way over I thought it was time for bed. “Wrong”, I was told. “This is when Hong Kong comes alive”. The first bar was full of pastey Pommey overstayers from the good old colonial rule days. In fact combined with the smog enveloping the city you could well have been in London! The first bar was rather quiet but several bars and Jaggameisters later the place really came alive. I made it back to the hotel by 4am and my roommate Richard at 9am ! First impressions of Hanoi were more smog, motorbikes everywhere and lots of happy friendly locals. Vietnam boasts 90M people and 85M motorbikes. We stayed in the old French area which is highly recommended if you are travelling that way. Lots of buildings crammed together with windows opening straight out onto the wall of the neighbouring house. No RMA here. The front room of houses were usually their business premises which opened out onto the footpath where they displayed their wares. With no room for garages, motorbikes and cars were parked in the front lounge beside the TV with a little ramp taking them up from the footpath. There were no rubbish bins so people just dropped their rubbish in the streets which was then picked up by old ladies pulling rubbish carts. The waterways were full of it which no doubt heads for the sea during seasonal rains. First attempts to climb onto my bike weren’t pretty as they were high riding Honda XR 250s which don’t come down until you sit on them. I had visions of falling off before I was actually on if that is possible? Once on I had to reacquaint myself with the controls, quite different to the push bikes I had been riding for the last few decades. Then we were off, with traffic everywhere, coming at you from all directions. We had to just fire ahead and assume everyone else would go round us, as they usually did. Having made it out of town then our guides tested our off road skills by leading us up a clay stop bank just for fun. Mine were bad and I had my first of five “offs”. All at slow speeds fortunately, two on wet clay, one gravel road and two into rice paddies. I can recommend the latter for a soft landing! ...continued on page 8
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Progress with a National LUC Extended Legend Continued from page 3 Scale determines the level of variation that can be captured within a mapping unit. LUC units defined at a regional (national) scale may contain components that are readily distinguished at more detailed mapping scales. Deconstruction of these regional (national) LUC units into their respective components may necessitate the establishment of new LUC units if they have not already been described within the national legend. A formal system needs to be established for farm-scale practitioners to submit proposed new LUC units for verification and incorporation into the national legend. Such a system should be readily accessible to all those undertaking LUC mapping at any scale. We have our own ideas, but we are keen to hear your ideas on how this may operate.
•
Ultimately we would like to design a national framework for the consistent allocation and ordering of LUC units into LUC suites and provide robust
•
decision-tree pathways for LUC unit selection and application AT ALL SCALES (national, regional and farm). Having all practitioners using the same national legend would also open the way for using farm-scale data to upgrade regional/nationallevel mapping (with suitable generalisation), and to encourage a consistent standard of farm-scale mapping across all regions.
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Where To from Here? •
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We see open constructive dialogue with all users of LUC, regional councils, unitary authorities, MPI, etc. as key to this project. The pending establishment of the Land Use Capability Classification System governance group is the beginning of this. We intend to review the first draft of the national LUC extended legend in light of the knowledge and experience already gained, and incorporate feedback – hence the importance of your input. We envisage the standardisation of the national LUC unit descriptions emphasising their physical characteristics (landform-landscape parameters, rock types, presence or absence of cover beds, soil parent materials, soils) and the soil characteristics (soil depth, texture, drainage, stoniness etc.), altitude/elevation range; rainfall range; and erosion characteristics (present & potential) etc. as important for ease of communication and conceptualisation. Currently many of the regional unit descriptions have a strong location basis, e.g. intermediate terraces along the xyz river, and lack key physical descriptors.
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•
•
We plan to make these working drafts available on the Web for circulation and comment, and ultimately intend to have an online tool for practitioners to query in order to acquire the suite of existing LUC units and unit descriptions likely to be applicable to that practitioner’s mapping project. A national legend will facilitate consistent regional and farm-plan LUC mapping across the whole country, and hence will be of immense benefit to local and central government agencies responsible for developing and implementing policy. Forward your input to us at luclegend@landcareresearch.co.nz
References Lynn IH, Manderson AK, Page MJ, Harmsworth GR Eyles GO, Douglas GB, Mackay AD, Newsome PJF (2009) Land Use Cabability Survey Handbook – a New Zealand Handbook for the Classification of Land (3rd edn). Hamilton: AgResearch; Lincoln: Landcare Research; Lower Hutt: GNS Science. 163 p.
CONFERENCE NZARM holds an annual conference to promote new learning, information sharing, networking, and a sense of community in the field of resource management. Venues alternate between the North and South Islands, and one of NZ’s 16 regional authorities will usually host the conference itself. October-November is most favoured as the time.
MEMBERSHIP NZARM welcomes new members, particularly if you have an interest in sustainable resource management. Prospective members can apply anytime, by obtaining a registration form from the website (www.nzarm.org.nz) or from the NZARM secretary. Candidates are nominated by two existing members (contact the secretary if this would be a constraint). Annual subscription is discounted to $70 if paid on or before 30th June each year. Late payments after that date are charged at the full subscription cost of $100. All subscription enquiries to:..
The Secretary C/- NZARM PO Box 4315 Hamilton East HAMILTON 3247 As a member of a registered association, members must inform the secretary in writing when they cancel or let their membership lapse. Otherwise the member will continue to be billed for the annual subscription.
PROFESSIONAL ACCREDITATION The system that NZARM uses for professional accreditation has been reviewed recently. Please see the NZARM website for details.
NEW MEMBERS Welcome Aboard! Eykolina Benny (BOP Regional Council) Jon Palmer (Waikato Regional Council) Matthew Highway (Dairy NZ) Michelle McCabe (Greater Wellington Regional
Page MJ (1985) Correlation of North Island Regional Land Use Cabability Units from the NZLRI. Water and Soil Miscellaneous Publication 75. Wellington: National Water and Soil Conservation Authority. 107 p.
Council)
IH Lynn & JR Barringer, Landcare Research Lincoln
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Behaviour Change in Agriculture Terry Parminter discusses one of the great challenges in dealing with freshwater issues.
Introduction
Behaviour Change Strategies
In the last NZARM Broadsheet our editor expressed a concern that perhaps we weren’t thinking enough about “how we communicate to [farmers] … and find their motivation.” I agree, and there is quite a bit of research that we can build on to examine this topic. A quick review using Google ® can highlight that the information to inform such a discussion is dispersed throughout the fields of social psychology, sociology and economics, as well as agricultural extension (Parminter 2013). By building on what has already been studied we can ensure that as practitioners we don’t keep “re-inventing the wheel”. Some of the basic principles of agricultural extension can be found in McEntee 2013; Rogers 2003 and Childs 1989.
When people who ceased smoking in the USA were studied the researchers found that people had up to six steps between becoming aware of the issue and actually giving up smoking (Prochaska and DiClemente 1983; Prochaska JO and Velicer WF, 1997). In my own work I have found it helpful to use the Stages of Change as a framework for putting together strategies for behaviour change (Parminter 2010). In Figure 1 there is an inner circle representing the stages of change from “awareness” to “review”. The outer circle represents the main psychological influences on change associated with each of the stages. Around the outer circle I have placed the key policy interventions for encouraging change. Not all of these interventions need to be done by the policy agency working on its own; results are likely to be much more effective when land management, industry good and commercial organisations are working together (Parminter 2010).
Behaviour Change Examples Implementation of the principles of behaviour change occurs in a number of areas and not just agriculture or landuse management. In New Zealand the New Zealand Transport Association has been conducting behaviour change strategies for many years on things such as seat belt wearing and using a cell phone while driving (Ministry of Transport 2012). A number of health campaigns have been run such as those to reduce sunburn, reduce smoking and encourage breast feeding (NRB 2010). All of these examples have made use of behaviour change principles in their campaigns and documented the results. Some agricultural examples building on human behaviour principles are the work done on dairy farming practices, irrigation of orchards, and riparian fencing (Bewsell and Brown 2009; Boland et al 2005; Bewsell et al 2007). My own work has included both agricultural extension and social marketing perspectives on behaviour change in agricultural and urban policy implementation (Parminter, Waters and Mortimer 2006).
Legend Stages of change
Psychological determinants of behaviour
Conclusions All of these principles highlight to me the importance of taking a strategic approach to behaviour change. Not all of us are interested in strategies. Some people prefer to go straight to holding events like field days. Some people like one-on-one contact with farmers. All of these things are great to do, but just doing these things on their own can result in very slow progress when rapid social change is needed. If people are concerned about the slow progress of change, I suggest that they dust off their strategic document and have a look at how well it connects with current best practice in behaviour change. Bibliography Parminter TG 2013. Of my own free will: voluntary approaches to environmental policy. LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing, Saarbrüken, Germany. Parminter TG, Waters C, and Mortimer C 2006. Examples of extension and policy strategies developed using theories of human behaviour and social marketing. Proceedings of the Australasian Pacific Extension Network. Rogers EM 2003. Diffusion of innovations (fifth edition). First published in 1962. Free Press, New York. Terry Parminter
Actions by policy agencies
Figure 1. Segmentation based upon 5 stages of change
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Conversations on Land Use Capability Mapping, the continuing story - Conversation No 2 Second in a series of articles on LUC by Norm Ngapo and Garth Eyles. Norm and Garth are endeavouring to get members to discuss issues relating to Land Use capability, hence their “conversations”. The broadsheet is a vehicle through which discussions need to be encouraged. The lack of response to the first article means either members are happy with the LUC system and have no questions or there is a lack of interest. Do you have any questions or issues relating to LUC you would like an opinion on from the wider membership or from Norm and Garth? Now is you opportunity.
In the last Broadsheet, the problems of translating 1:50,000 scale Land Resource Inventory data directly into finer (larger) farm scale mapping were discussed. This session will cover how to deal with LUC mapping at a farm scale when some areas don’t quite fit into the LUC units that you expected to find. First step – scale of mapping: When mapping at a farm scale I try and map at a scale of about 1:10,000. However, you also should be working with a field map that is no larger than A3 size. On large properties (say over 750 ha), this may mean that you will need more than one map to cover the property. There is nothing worse than having an A1 or A0 size map blowing around in the field while you are trying to write on it. Use an A3 size and fold it so it fits nicely into your clip board. I have found that you can map at a scale of up to about 1:15,000 and still end up with a useful LUC map suitable for farm scale management purposes. However, if you have to go to a coarser scale (1:20,000 or 1:25,000) to make it fit onto one A3 plan, then the LUC map will not be as useful for farm planning. You may need to have more than one field map to carry out mapping on very large properties. Note- The map has to provide a blueprint for planning. As such it needs to be at a useable scale so don’t make the scale smaller than is useful. 1:8,000 to 1:10,000 seems to be the best scale range. Second step: When you are doing your field mapping, always take the time to ensure that your land inventory is mapped accurately. Don’t make the mistake of drawing in the LUC unit boundaries and missing out the inventory mapping. I tend to write notes alongside my inventory explaining the landform of where the inventory unit sits in the landscape (e.g. Flat floodplain area; steep scarp face below plateau tops, etc.) If I consider that the inventory unit is a very clear LUC unit, then I write it down at the time. However, I only do this if I am absolutely sure at the time of mapping. Later, when you are delineating your LUC units from your land inventory map in the office, you need to be confident that your land inventory mapping is absolutely correct. Remember - Land inventory data is factual at the time of mapping. Land use capability is assessed from the land inventory. Note: I also note the things that need doing such as a gully head that needs fixing; write down the depth and size of the gully and the work needed to repair it.
Third step: If you have a regional classification available, then most of your LUC units should be reasonably clear and able to be identified both on site, and later in the office. By the time you are working through to identifying and assessing the LUC units you should have a good idea of the landform and where your units fit into the general landscape. You can then prepare your extended legend, which will accompany your map. However, sometimes there are LUC units that do not fit into the picture that you would expect. Note: it takes time to learn the LUC units in your area. So try to ensure your first plans are on simple farms where the LUC units are clear!! – This makes life much easier. Make sure you have benchmark type sites for LUC units you can refer to for calibration. Discuss this with more experienced LMO’s in your region if you are unsure. What do I do when I have identified units that do not fit into any of the NZLRI units that are available? There are a couple of options that can be used when this occurs. Option1: Use the Regional classification to find the closest LUC unit available and assign this with a descriptor identifying the difference (e.g., an (a)) if the chosen LUC unit is appropriate. Option 2: If there is no suitable LUC unit available in the regional classification, then use the North Island LRI correlation bulletin (Water and Soil Miscellaneous Publication No. 75) to find the closest LUC unit available and assign a descriptor as per option 1. The South Island has one classification covering all of the South Island. Marlborough has 2nd edition data and its own classification. Use the extended legend to explain how the classification for the unit is derived. Example: When mapping at Ruatahuna, I mapped a Class 8 LUC unit which includes very steep gorge slopes/bluffs on tertiary mudstone with alternating bedded sandstone and siltstone. Under the Bay of Plenty Regional Classification, there is no such unit mapped. However, using the North Island correlation bulletin, I found that in the Hawkes Bay there is a unit mapped as Class 8e2 with similar rock type and slope. The unit was therefore mapped for the Ruatahuna LUC classification as Class 8e2(a). In the Extended legend, I make a comment that the unit correlates to the Northern Hawkes Bay LUC unit Class 8e2. Option of last Resort: If there is no LUC unit that fits it will be necessary to establish a new one. This should only be done after discussion with your manager who should be keeping a master LUC classification where any new units are recorded. This process needs to be adhered to so that your team doesn’t develop a range of uncoordinated units. We would hope that in the future, some structure will be given to this process which will allow a more regional and national ...continued over page
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Conversations on LUC Mapping cont. ...continued from previous page development of the existing LUC classifications used for large scale mapping and for updates as new technologies change the physical limitations and potentials of land. How do I ensure that the LUC map is understood and used by the landowner? This is a key issue that is often overlooked in the rush to cover as many properties as possible and meet your performance targets (complete x number of plans per month or per year). However, unless the farmer/landowner understands the LUC map and takes ownership of it, then the whole exercise can be a waste of time. I tend to have the landowner/occupier/famer involved in discussions from the outset. When I first meet them, I explain the purpose of the LUC map, and how it can be used to provide a stocktake of their property. I keep them involved in the mapping process, and try to catch up with them on completion, to go through the key landscape features and the limitations / management options on their key
land units. Landowners are often a valuable source of information. Much of their information, they are not aware of the fact that they know it. It sometimes needs to be drawn out and discussed. Once you have this information it is time to sit down with the farmer and develop a work programme. This can take the form of a recommended land use map or more commonly a 5 year work programme. For this to be used the farmer must trust the data, the LUC classification and your proposals. Hence the need to the farmer to “Own” the plan. Working together you will have a good chance to achieve both the farmer’s goals and the Council’s requirements. Take the time to do this, and the final product will be picked up and used. If the farmer is left out of the process, how can they be expected to understand the information and use it? Norm Ngapo and Garth Eyles
NORTHERN VIETNAM –cont. Continued from page 4 We rode an eleven day circuit out from Hanoi, north around the Chinese border. Terrain varied from paddy fields on the terraces and river valleys to sparse rocky grasslands in the mountains. We traversed numerous mountain ranges with switchback rounds not unlike the old Arthurs Pass road before they built the viaduct. We did about twenty mountain passes of this nature. Storm water erosion and sediment control measured were provided by stepped concrete channels carved into the clay road cuttings as per photo. They were impressively long and steep with concrete steps designed to break up water velocity at regular intervals. Fortunately we did not experience any of the rainy season but I’m sure these channels would be impressive in full flood! There was no evidence of hydroseeding with bare clay seemingly left to revegetate which could be quite fast in this warm environment. All in all it was great fun with inspiring scenery, happy friendly people, beautiful food and the adrenaline rush of being back on a motorbike. Would recommend it to anybody but it would be a good idea to sharpen your skills if you haven’t been on a bike for a few decades! Having said that our NZ environment looked particularly clean and green when we arrived home and seeing the sky again was a particular novelty. Cheers Lee Whiley
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Regional Roundup OTAGO Life at the Otago Regional Council is starting to settle back into some sense of normality after a major restructure at the end of last year. Since the changes, the land resources team have had a name change to Community Liaison and Education and sits within the new Stakeholder Engagement directorate along with the Comms team and Customer Services. Nicola McGrouther manages the team, which still (thankfully!) includes guru Bruce Monaghan (Alexandra office) and up and coming guru Rob Schick (Dunedin office). We have two new team members – James White who is based in Kakanui in North Otago, and Jodie Robertson who has just joined our Dunedin office. They both come to the team with experience in working with communities either via Council work or the NZ Landcare Trust. We are really pleased to have them on board! We are still to appoint one more person (yet to be advertised) to bring our team back up to 6 (so if I can entice someone away from their job with offers of beautiful Central Otago scenery, amazing high country farms, amazing surfing, fishing, biking, skiing and outdoor pursuits – please don’t hesitate to contact me!). Our new Director of Stakeholder Engagement, Jane Leahy has just recently joined the Council and is warmly welcomed!
Our major water plan change, 6A went through mediation with the Otago community without going to Environment Court and was officially in place for the 1 May 2014. It’s been a major body of work for the Council over the last 6 years, and speaking from a land management perspective it’s great to have a set of completed rules to work with after years of uncertainty. We went around the region with a series of 15 events in early July to introduce the final plan change to the community. We are now settling in to working with the community to help them understand and meet the new rules. Key aspects of the plan change – · The plan change is about protecting good water quality while minimising constraints on land uses and the way people manage their land · Its aims to maintain water quality where it is good and enhance it where it is not · River, lake and aquifer limits have been set to provide for o Safe swimming, food gathering and recreation o Healthy and functioning ecosystems, drinking water · The plan focuses on effects on water quality, not on-farm management · The plan should be relatively simple to interpret – if people see a problem they should just fix it! · The plan is permitted activity based (no consents to farm required)
Research Update Current research at Lincoln University includes Dr Ronlyn Duncan’s work on the collaborative process being used in Canterbury for water management through the Zone committees. Ronlyn, a lecturer in the Department of Environmental Management, has a particular interest in the way science is used (and abused) in policy and planning processes and has written an insightful article on how predictive modelling, such as Overseer, and rules limiting land use are raising issues about model credibility and policy/ planning processes. This is a must read for anyone involved in nutrient limit setting issues and has already been the basis of a staff report to the Taranaki Regional Council Policy and Planning committee . http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837714001239
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Land managers are required to monitor the contaminants leaving their property (to groundwater using Overseer, and testing E.coli, NNN, DRP to surface water) and take responsibility for it Under the permitted activity rules sediment leaching the land should not cause sedimentation in the river, lake or wetland and should not cause a visual sediment plume. Stock access to waterways is permitted as long as it doesn’t cause pugging, erosion or sedimentation of the banks and bed of the river, lake or wetland. Activities/discharges with gross effects won’t be tolerated. It is prohibited to discharge: o Dairy effluent from storage ponds or silage leachate, to water, to saturated soils, to land within 50 metres of a waterway o To cultivate or disturb land without mitigation measures to try and reduce sediment getting into waterways Transitions have been built into the plan o The prohibited activities and most of the permitted activities apply now – Research shows that if the gross effects are stopped, areas in Otago where there is poor water quality would improve significantly therefore these rules apply now. o Overseer and the surface water discharge thresholds need to be met by 2020. This gives land managers 5 1/2 years to test and measure and make changes required to meet these thresholds. If needed consents can be applied for to provide to reduce the contaminant discharges over time. We are looking forward to working with the rural community to help them understand and implement changes to ensure good water quality leaves their property. Lots of learning for everyone involved, and hopefully some early wins, if we can get those gross effects sorted out. Nicola McGrouther
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Regional Roundup cont. HORIZONS Andrew Manderson has taken a new position with Landcare Research in the Soils and Landscapes team as a pedologist/scientist. He’s loving it. Recently he remapped soils in the Tangimoana sand country (~10,000 ha) at a 1:15,000 scale and re-digitised the Otaki soil survey of Palmer & Wilde. Both surveys are now available as GIS layers or t h r o u g h S - m a p (http://smap.landcareresearch.co.nz). He’s keen to capture all those old soil maps for the lower North Island into digital form to make them more widely available, and where relevant fill in the gaps with new survey. More people are using this type of information (e.g. for reliable Overseer modelling) but users like farmers and agricultural professionals are finding the old maps increasingly difficult to source. Andrew is also having a hard look at the LUC system, and is equally interested to hear from people who have experienced problems with the classification itself, or errors in the N Z L R I (Andrew.Manderson@landcareresearch. co.nz). On the research side of things, Andrew is also working on the characterisation of soil carbon variability in hill country environments. Garth Harmsworth is busy working in several science programmes and on commercial contracts across land and freshwater, climate change, biodiversity and Maori land development. These include the Values, Monitoring and Outcomes programme with Suzie Greenhalgh, Landcare Research, where they are preparing for another regional council forum in Auckland on collaborative process and freshwater management and governance. Garth is leading the Maori research work-stream with Shaun Awatere and Mahuru Robb (LCR Hamilton), and have been building learnings on cultural monitoring (mainly Kaipara, Manawatū and Hawkes Bay) and iwi-Crown collaborative process throughout the country. Work continues in the Clean Water Productive Land (CWPL) programme with Chris Phillips, Les Basher, and John Dymond and increasing work with AgResearch and NIWA on modelling (CLUEs and SedNet) to identify critical source areas
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(CSAs) and contaminants in subcatchments and to quantify land management impacts linked to cultural values and freshwater limit setting. Besides much iwi/hapu-based research he’s continuing to present and attend workshops to advise several regional councils. Some of Garths work is at these links: http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/__ data/assets/pdf_file/0003/74433/Polic y-Brief-7-Using-Maori-to-informfreshwater.pdf http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/ab out/news/events/link-seminars http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/sci ence/portfolios/enhancing-policyeffectiveness/vmo A large part of Garths work continues around Maori land development, identifying Maori land potential and sustainable land use options, and the Maori land visualisation tool has been a major output from this work: http:// whenuaviz.landcareresearch.co.nz/
John Douglas has been working on some detention dams to help alleviate flooding on the Wainuitewhara, this is a small catchment that runs through the centre of the Whakatāne Township. This work is part of the larger programme to ensure that catchment and stream is better managed by increasing the carrying capacity of the stream and reduces peak flows in the upper catchment where possible. Ben Banks has been busy working on his biggest biodiversity project to date, which covers 3500 ha of native bush, 3 ecological districts, 3 catchments and luckily one set of owners. Some impressive rata, rimu, miro and kahikatea stands with in this area. Also looking at removing some arears from production forest to protect the wetlands long term , to reduce the impacts of sediment. Ben Banks
Andrew Manderson
BAY OF PLENTY Since last report, Norm Ngapo has been busy carrying out forestry auditing, working on forestry consents for BOP Regional Council, along with checking on earthworks in the Tauranga area. Also doing some LUC mapping along with Garth Eyles in the Waikato Region on large pastoral blocks half way between Tokoroa and Otorohanga. Working through the analysis of what land management actions are needed for Tauranga Harbour is keeping Robyn Skelton busy in the Bay of Plenty Regional Council Tauranga office. Coming up to the new Long Term Plan, the council is reshaping the way it operates in the Environmental Delivery area. This involves a restructure to link with Water Management Areas, and therefore a reshape on delivery. Exciting times. In addition, Robyn is currently getting under way a new method of mangrove seedling management for Tauranga Harbour. The Council are supporting a purpose-built hovercraft to ensure the currently-clear estuaries and harbour environments remain clear.
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Regional Roundup cont. SOUTHLAND Land Sustainability staff have been busy taking part in the farm focus activity plans. This is a pilot programme where each Land Sustainability Officer has 10 farm plans to complete by the end of August 2014. These plans are largely GIS based with the focus activities being Nutrient Management, Riparian Management and Winter grazing. These are 3 of the focus activities for our Water and Land 2020 and beyond project. (WAL2020) We are using ArcMap 10.2.1 as our GIS platform. We have been using a programme called Collector on our smart phones to collect information in the field. Collector, as its name says, is a programme for collecting GIS data in the field to put into ArcMap. With collector you can collect points, lines or polygons. You can either stream it using GPS, or draw it in by hand over top of the aerial maps. Collector can be used either on line or off line. If you are in cellular reception each feature you collector is sent back to the database immediately. When you get back to opening your ArcMap project in the office all the data is already there . If you are out of cellular coverage you can work off line. Once back into coverage you can send the data in and it is back in the office when you get there. The system works brilliantly as you no longer have to write on a map that you may have trouble reading your own writing when you get back to the office, or may get wet and fall to pieces. (although it doesn’t rain much in Southland) . Nathan Cruickshank
HAWKES BAY A mild winter on the east coast combined with the Ruataniwha Water Storage Scheme Board of Enquiry decision, has created quite a lot of optimism in Hawkes Bay. NZARM members are involved in these developments in all kinds of ways with regional council staff busy looking at how land owners might deal with the nutrient management challenges that are in front of them. Broadsheet - August 2014 - Issue 24
Nic Caviale has seen the Whangawehi Catchment Management Group become very successful in obtaining funding. The group is meeting ambitious targets with over half of the15,000 riparian native plants for this winter, already in the ground. Peter Manson has been working with the Whakaki the group and of course the pole planting season has kept him reasonably focussed. Gus has left the nursery after 40 years and Jeff Tantrum (from a Farm Forestry blood line) is now nursery manager and doing a great job. Barry Lynch is currently working with Landcare Research on two projects – Sediment Modelling in the Tukituki catchment and land use change mapping using satellite imagery. Barry is BIG (on this). Stand by for the next Land Use Capability course planned by Garth Eyles. The word is that the region with the most interest will also be the host! Let Garth or Norm know soon. Neil Faulknor – the other retiree, is said to be selling his second house and moving permanently to a coastal location (which cannot be identified due to the valuable stash of bottled liquids). Hetty McLennan has seen through the first season of ‘trees at cost’ which is similar to the TRC riparian programme. Its been very successful and a considerably larger programme is expected next year. Hetty is multiplying soon so she’ll be away from work for a few months – good luck Hetty! Kate McKinnon and Warwick Hesketh work with focus groups in the Tukituki catchment where there has been some uncertainty about what nutrient management commitments lie ahead. They have done a great job assisting land owners through the process. Warwick is working on a pilot programme for an ICM approach to managing phosphorus losses from farming . Steve Cave had Forest and Birders in action on Tutira Regional Park, recently planting a steeper face at the northern end of Lake Tutira. Flowering species were a consideration in the plant selection to support the manuka and tree’s for bee’s initiative underway on the park.
Iain Maxwell is also still deeply involved in the Tukituki Plan Change 6 and all that goes with it (as above….). Dan Bloomer at LandWISE has two new projects on the go. Through SFF in partnership with FAR and FertResearch they are developing fertiliser applicator on-farm calibration protocols. This will enable farmers to check distribution as well as per hectare rates of nutrients applied. As one of eight Horizons initiatives focused on cleaning up Lake Horowhenua, Dan is working with local farmers on drainage and sediment management. This includes redesign of the drainage network, and surveying the farms with tractor GPS and developing cut-and-fill maps that are fed into the tractor GPS to control land shaping equipment. Brendan Powell has been involved with teh ‘Trees for Bees’ project which when linked with the trees at cost riparian programme, has huge productive potential. Peter Manson
WAIKATO Winter has seen the usual activities for the catchment management officers in the Waikato as June saw us all finalising those end of year deadlines, such as grant claiming and poplar pole deliveries. Completing contract works and restoration works within the timeframes and budgets also brings a sense of closure at this time of year. Various projects such as building bunds to create wetlands, fencing and planting up peat lake margins, restoration of geothermal wetlands and estuary restoration projects have been undertaken by the team. The team grant claimed 99,500 km of fencing and 95,000 plants for the 2013/14 financial year. With our native plant supply scheme overseen by CMO Joanna Nash, another high uptake by landowners was achieved, getting ecosourced native plants in the ground around the various districts. We also have Project Crimson contracting the growing of pohutukawa from seed eco-sourced by CMOs, which is a much appreciated scheme by coastal landowners. This year 600 went out to the Coromandel. Next year the west coast (Raglan etc) will also receive 600 pohutukawa to give to their coastal landwww.nzarm.org.nz
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Regional Roundup cont. WAIKATO CONT. Amongst all of this end of year activity both the Hauraki Plains and Coromandel Peninsula were hit by several major storms with June the 10th to 12th being the most devastating. During such events the main focus is on what the various council emergency teams and operation teams need to do to protect people and property. In the aftermath the CMOs will often inspect the areas to see what needs to be implemented with the resulting slips, mass movement and fencing and planting (either checked for damage or discussed with landowners as future works). So the following is what Rien vande Weteringh, Warren Coffee (Huaraki CMOs) and I (North Coromandel CMO) have been out to observe after these storms from our soil conservation perspective. Warren Coffey Recent heavy rain events in the Waihou catchment caused a number of localised soil erosion and slip events on farms on the steeper slopes of the Kaimai Ranges (Western side). A range of solutions has been recommended, from retirement of the area and plantation establishments to erosion control plantings of poplar trees. We received several complaints over the last few years, and several more recently, about sediment slugs coming down several streams flowing out of the north eastern end of the Northern Kaimai forest park. Landowners are concerned that they have fenced and planted their streams and there was a “mess” coming down the tributaries every time it rained. Investigations found a massive 10km plus 4WD track in the very upper reaches of several streams coming out of the forest park. An awesome place to go 4 wheel driving, but probably not the best place for such an activity that causes land disturbance. Many of the best 4 WD features, e.g. wet bogs, are intersections with pristine, stony bottom, bush clad streams on very steep terrain in the headwaters of the Taieri, Waimata and Mangakiri Streams – all streams that have had thousands of catchment works dollars and landowner spend and labour input into clean streams and soil conservation Page 16
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remediation works. Spoil was dumped in loose, big piles around the track, and very little of the expected earthworks mitigation measures have been installed. Investigations and options are ongoing in co-operation with the Department of Conservation (whose land the track is on) and the 4WD Association.
blocking the streams and overflowing onto pasture below, resulting in debris and silt spread over large areas and fences and farm bridges completely wiped out. A WRC forestry operation along Thompson’s track had to be stopped due to extensive damage to roading. Cleanup The cleanup began 18th April (Good Friday) with local contractors and WRC operations staff giving up their Easter break to come and put the streams back in their channels, repairing badly eroded areas and removing trees and debris from stream beds and paddocks. Catchment management officers visited the most affected landowners to discuss stabilisation programmes. It has taken 4 weeks to get to a stage that the streams are back in their channels and the more serious erosion has been repaired. There will be more follow up work required such as fencing, fallen tree removal and less serious erosion repairs carried out.
From Rien (and Paddy Haynes River Works Manager) The top of the Coromandel and Kaimai Ranges have been hit by a few intense storms in recent months resulting in considerable damage to the stream network, farm infrastructure and pastures requiring an extensive cleanup effort involving Waikato Regional Council (WRC) operations staff On 17th April 2014 the remnant of Cyclone Ita hit the Kaimai ranges in a relatively localised area of the Waihou river catchment south of Te Aroha. The weather bomb like storm started approximately 4.00am and tailed off around 2.00pm in the afternoon. Local landowners reported a whopping rainfall ranging from 250 – 385mm over that period (10 hours). The Waihou river flow at the nearby WRC recording site at Shaftesburys bridge went from 29 to 160 cumecs over that timeframe. The rainfall that was recorded was around the 100 year event. There were some 18 hill streams affected by this storm which culminated in damage to farmland and assets. A large number of slips occurred in the foothills which sent debris downstream
There has been up to 8 diggers working 7 days a week to complete this work to allow the landowners to get back to their normal operations, a fantastic effort by machine operators, local landowners and WRC staff. On 12 June another rainstorm hit the region with Kaimai Ranges which was less intense but more wide spread resulting in record river levels at some of the WRC recorder sites and near record levels at Te Aroha township. Elaine The Coromandel has short steep catchments of Class 8 and 7 land falling to the sea in under 4 kilometres. The two worst hit catchments in the northern area were the Ohinewai and the Ongohi catchments right up to Port Jackson. The farms in these catchments are owned by the Ward families, who have been in this area for 130 years. The volcanic ranges consist of granite in this area and are covered in native bush (Coromandel Forest Park). The devastation is unlike what I have seen in past flood events such as the
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Regional Roundup cont. Manawatu Floods in 2004 or the Lower Waikato, as the water retreats leaving behind silt and mud. In this catchment it was granite boulders the size of cars and large tree trucks stripped of all their vegetation as they came down the valleys onto the flood plain. A picture says a thousand words so if you want to check out the photos and footage on Waikato Regional Council’s facebook page June 16th or watch the flyover at this link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnGqU WwfvVI&feature=youtu.be Our operations staff worked solidly to get the streams back into their channels and much of the soil erosion I saw on the hillsides are shallow slipping. Mass movement has occurred in the upper catchments of the forest park which provided the material for the major debris flows that did the damage to farm infrastructure and roading (though you will notice in the photos this is not visible – the hillsides look rather intact given the size of the debris flows). Elaine Iddon
President: Ross Abercrombie, Environment Waikato, 401 Grey St., PO Box 4010, Hamilton, Ph. 0800 800 401 Mobile 021 471 683. Email:Ross.Abercrombie@ew.govt.nz Past President: Simon Stokes, Environment Bay of Plenty, PO Box 364, Whakatane. Ph. 0800 368 267 (ex. 9378) or cell 029 756 0311. Email:Simon.Stokes@envbop.govt.nz Treasurer: Jim Risk, Balance, Wilton Street Invercargill, Ph. 03 2113218, Email:jrisk@ballance.co.nz Secretary: Julia Crossman, Environment Canterbury P O Box 550, Timaru. Ph. 03 684 0510. Email: Julia.Crossman@ecan.govt.nz Members: Norm Ngapo, WSC Ltd, Ph. 07 312 6318, cell 027 2902 402, Email:norm@waiorasoilcon.co.nz Helen Moodie, NZ Landcare Trust PO Box 3026 Whangarei, Ph. 09 4300954, Email: Helen.moodie@landcare.co.nz
CANTERBURY Greetings from Canterbury The activity within Canterbury is vast and various with those members within our University and Crown Institutes keeping very busy. Chris Phillips at Landcare Research is continuing to be involved with the SedNetNZ development team, comprising John Dymond, Les Basher, Harley Betts, Mike Marden and Alex Herzig. The model has been used in a number of projects for various regional councils. Chris has also been continuing with root research with Mike Marden, both of whom have been busy writing up a number of papers on previous trials of native and exotic trees. Our collaboration with Massi Schwarz from Switzerland is allowing our data to be used in model validation and we will soon be embarking on further model calibration using new poplar trials (SLURI work with Grant Douglas and Ian McIvor) and for radiata as part of Scion’s new “Growing Confidence in Forestry’s Future” programme. Within Environment Canterbury the implementation of the Canterbury Water Management Strategy (CWMS) is continuing with some findings coming out of some programme reviews relating to Land Use and Water Quality that we are keen to share at the NZARM conference later this year. We have had a few role changes and I have accepted the opportunity to manage the teams within council that work with our resource users in an advisory and
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EXECUTIVE
Secretariat: NZARM c/- Groundwork Associates, PO Box 4315, Hamilton East, Hamilton 3247. Ph. 07 855 7163. Email nzarm@groundworkassociates.co.nz NZARM Bank Account: KiwiBank 38-90090112026-00
REGIONAL REPS NORTHLAND Lorna Douglas (lornad@nrc.govt.nz) AUCKLAND Rob Hughes (Rob.Hughes@arc.govt.nz) WAIKATO Elaine Iddon (Elaine.Iddon@waikatoregion.govt.nz) BAY OF PLENTY Ben Banks (Ben.Banks@envbop.govt.nz) GISBORNE Kerry Hudson (kerryh@gdc.govt.nz) TARANAKI Quin Amoore (quin.amoore@trc.govt.nz) MANWATU-WANGANUI Malcolm Todd (malcolm.todd@horizons.govt.nz) HAWKES BAY Peter Manson (manson@hbrc.govt.nz) WELLINGTON Andrew Stewart (Andrew.stewart@gw.govt.nz) NELSON, TASMAN, MARLBOROUGH WESTCOAST Barbara Stuart (barbara.stuart@landcare.org.nz)
&
OTAGO Murray Harris (landfors@ihug.co.nz) SOUTHLAND Nathan Cruickshank (nathan.cruickshank@es.govt.nz) CANTERBURY Judith Earl-Goulet goulet@ecan.govt.nz)
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NORTHLAND
educative manner. This section of council is called Implementation and Extension and includes our Land Management Advisors, Rule Interpretation team, Pollution Prevention and those who work to support Audited Self Management and Water Efficiency. There is likely to be ongoing job opportunities so if you are interested in knowing more about the opportunities here at Environment Canterbury please give me a call.
Greetings from a very soggy Northland! At the time of writing, Northland continues to be rather vulnerable as we deal with the effects of two weeks which have seen some very heavy rain and wild wind events. We’ve had slips and/or closures of all main highways both north and south of Whangarei, raising concerns that getting much needed supplies to the mid north may be compromised. These latest events come after a flood in June that had serious effects in localised areas and of course the drought in many areas of Northland, but particularly on the West Coast, that came after the previous year’s bad drought.
In addition to CWMS implementation Environment Canterbury’s attention has also turned to co-ordinating an organisation wide approach to the implementation of the Land and Water Regional Plan which given statutory bottom lines to aspects of the CWMS. This plan sets broad limits through the region for water quality that will then be refined, through a series of sub-regional planning processes with more focused collaboration and engagement processes with communities. A key tool identified for management of nutrient loss, and hence water quality, is the Farm Environment Plan. The Plan sets some key requirements and objectives that a Farm Environment Plan must satisfy, but does not specify the use of a specific template. This has been a conscious approach as we are not interested in controlling the look of a document but are more interested in ensuring the focus is on the key objectives and outcomes that need to be achieve and demonstrate. The plan provisions allows for us to approve ‘industry designed templates’ and we will be posting information relating to this process and the industry designed templates that have being approved on our website in the near future. So I had better finish off as I prepare to update rural professionals at a workshop hosted by NZIPIM about Farm Environment Plans. I am still looking for someone to take over as Canterbury co-ordinator – give me a call if you are keen. Ka kite, Judith
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These latest events have come at a particularly bad time for farmers about to start calving and support is being offered by a variety of rural agencies. However, animal welfare and feed shortages are going to be felt for many months to come. Therefore, we really do need to be working together in a proactive way to build more resilient farming systems. In the April 2013 Broadsheet, Bob Cathcart wrote about starting to feel the effects of climate change: “This is the new norm, get used to it”. The maps on page 15 give a snapshot of the extremes some in Northland have faced in the past few months. Northland Regional Council land management team There has been a lot of discussion within the NRC land team and with landowners we’ve spoken to since the flooding events, about the real need for integrated catchment management to be better prepared for such events in the future. Linked to this is the number of farmers we’ve spoken to whose new riparian fences in flood-prone areas have been washed away (or even picked up right out of the ground, posts and all). Is it realistic that they be expected to replace those fences, especially with the amount of debris that has come down some of the catchments? Our work on priority catchments continues with collaborative catchment groups established in the Kaipara, Mangere, Whangarei Harbour and Waitangi catchments. Further work is underway to establish collaborative groups in the
Doubtless Bay and Pouto dune lakes catchments. From these a broader catchment focus in the north will hopefully grow. Other than dealing with storm issues, our land team members have been busy completing more Farm Water Quality Improvement Plans (FQWIPs); approximately 130 completed in the last financial year. The majority of these plans have resulted in environment fund applications for riparian fencing: in the last year the ‘efund’ has seen about 325kms of fencing erected. Various team members have been working with DairyNZ on regionspecific publications about riparian management and general sustainable land management. Work at the poplar nursery is in full planting mode, with Wayne Teal and assorted helpers planting up Block 2. The weather has held up work there as well, including a delay in deliveries of poles destined to get out to clients, but overall there should be 4200 3m poplar poles and 6500 shrubby willow wands supplied from NRC for planting across Northland this year. Helen Moodie – DairyNZ: at the moment Helen has been significantly sidetracked in to helping farmers affected by the recent storm. Her past experience (both in coordinating clean up in both 2007 storms and as a CO for lots of the farmers that are seriously affected by the storm) has drawn her in to DairyNZ’s response. In addition to the serious farm management challenges they face, it is a fairly serious dose of reality around the challenges we face if we are to address water quality issues in catchments limited by sediment with this sort of event becoming increasingly common. She is hoping to give a presentation to the NZARM conference on “Farming with Limits – Northland Style” (with input from Dean Evans – NRC) so come along to the conference for more detail! Ursula Buckingham – Hancock Forest Management (HFM) is busy cleaning up infrastructure to be able to get to wind throw trees after the recent
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Regional Roundup cont.
rain and wind received in Northland (rain recorded in HFM estate between 365 – 524mm and wind up to 170km/hr). It has been estimated that 350ha (150,000 tonnes) of land has been lost to wind throw throughout Northland with the estimated loss in tree value at $1.5milion and an extra $0.50million in harvest cost.
in place to clear slips across infrastructure and salvage the wind throw damage without harm or injury to anyone. While storm damage clean-up continues we continue with our planting programme which we are three quarters of our way through. This season will see 2.05 million trees over 2,300 hectares from Waipu to Te Kao planted.
The forest industry has estimated a cost of $1 million in repairs to infrastructure and as at 15 July $1million had been lost in revenue from SH1 and Mangakahia Road closures. It is estimated that the daily cost of these roads being closed is nearly $400,000 per day to the forestry industry as a whole.
In RMA news we are spending an increased number of hours keeping abreast of all the regional and district council plan reviews including the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan. We look forward to the beginning of the NRC Soil and Water Plan review!
Despite this doom and gloom picture it was pleasing to see our forest infrastructure hold up as well as it did and that the majority of slips occurred in mid slope on land that was planted in trees 0- 6 years of age. Coincidently we had just finished burning 85 landings throughout our estate which resulted in very few landing slips. The HFM team are now working together to put a plan
John Rameka Alexander, former NZARM Member and Senior Soil Conservator to the Northland Catchment Commission died recently. Many Members will remember John’s wicked sense of humour, particularly when in the company of Whiley, Handiside and Co., but only those who worked with him will be aware of his very sound and practical approach to soil conservation
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and erosion control work. He commenced his career with the Ministry of Works Soil Conservation Unit but joined the Catchment Commission when he and his late wife Annie moved to Whangarei. A thorough gentleman, John was well respected by the hundreds of farmers, foresters, engineers and local government personnel with whom he interacted. In his retirement John gained a reputation as a very thorough Treaty claims investigator, particularly for Ngati Rehia. We have all lost a very good friend.
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President’s Comment Engagement, Collaboration and Action – These are the themes of this year’s annual NZARM conference in Wellington in mid October. In thinking about these themes, I wonder about the place of NZARM members in this mix, and some contemporary examples. Over the past few years collaboration and engagement have become buzz words and catch-cries for a better way of working. This is particularly true in policy realms where past methods of putting together plans for resource use have failed to capture the views of the wider public and agencies through standard consultation means. In the policy world collaboration has been enacted is to avoid lengthy litigation regarding points of legal difference that often see regional councils in long environment court processes before plans come into force. So, collaboration is here to stay, particularly in policy development.
In our conference we will hear from people about how collaboration is coming into action around the country, how NZARM members are engaged in this process and how we can move from policy development to action based projects and outcomes. NZARM members have skills in working together with people and engaging communities. We have much to offer in this space. I hope to see many of you in Wellington and finding out more about your examples/experiences of collaboration. This is an election year also, so AGM material will come out soon outlining processes ahead. I hope to see many of you at AGM ahead of our usual happy hour.. Regards Ross Abercrombie
When starting to collaborate an understanding of stakeholder networks and engagement processes is required. NZARM members are often called in to assist with this step, calling on our linkages to community or agency linkages and networks. This emphasizes our role and core strength, in bringing together communities and agency (often rural) to enhance resource use decision making. Now, anyone who has tried to collaborate knows that this can be time consuming and involves group processes (storming, norming, performing, reforming) before action can be undertaken. Focus and shared direction is vital, along with clarity of purpose. Without these points defined time can become a challenge. So if there are so many challenges why collaborate? My answer is that by collaborating we can minimise future challenges, capture the views of multiple agencies, unlock resources and bring diversity in people’s approaches to resource solutions - all good reasons to undertake collaborative projects, particularly when actions become partnerships.
Scenes from Wairarapa Moana
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