Middle ground has been reached between the Department of Conservation and Landcorp New Zealand over the management of wilding trees spreading from Waipori Station to Te Papanui Conservation Park.
The two parties signed a memorandum of understanding this week to formalise a plan to manage the potential spread of the 180ha of Douglas fir and conifer to the conservation park, which is 250m away.
University of Otago Emeritus Prof Sir Alan Mark said he had been "stirring the pot'' on the issue of wilding trees in the area since they were planted in 2012.
"I was highly concerned by the planting of a plant known for producing a lot of wildings right next to a pristine conservation park,'' he said.
In 2012 risk of wilding spread to the Te Papanui Conservation Park was deemed "high'' by forestry company PF Olsen.
The risk had dropped moderately because further planting planned for 2013 and 2015 at Waipori Station did not proceed, and an amendment to the Clutha district plan meant the planting of Douglas fir was no longer permitted.
The agreement would also seek to increase the understanding of the need to protect the environmental and commercial benefits of the organisations.
Landcorp property and environment general manager Phil McKenzie said the organisation now "elevated'' the importance of the environment more than it had in the past.
"We did a risk assessment at the time [of the planting].
"With the benefit of hindsight we would have done things differently.''
The collaboration with Doc was not "anti-forestry'', rather it would encourage appropriate planting in the right places, he said.
He hoped the agreement would be a model for future work between Doc and Landcorp on a larger scale.
Department of Conservation improvement manager David Agnew said the agreement was a positive outcome.
