Status of resort under threat from wilding pines

Managing wilding conifers is essential to maintaining Queenstown's status as New Zealand's top tourist town, Scion wilding tree expert Nick Ledgard told the New Zealand Biosecurity Institute conference in Queenstown last week.

He said most visitors visited Wakatipu for the landscape but it was "very much under threat" from wilding pines, which would turn the landscape dark green and diminish the conservation values.

He told delegates a new task force has been set up to tackle the wilding pines problem in the Wakatipu basin.

The 35-member group was made up of representatives from all major agencies, including Department of Conservation. Queenstown Lakes District Council district forester Brianna O'Brien was also part of it.

Mr Ledgard said 12 species were spreading throughout the district.

The first control strategy identified 25,000ha of affected land and control work was completed on most of the area between 2004 and 2008.

A strategy for 2008-12 was being implemented, with more control work planned.

A wilding-control manual had been developed to educate people on tools to control pines such as spraying and chainsaws.

He said the group's success depended on funding and the commitment of its volunteers.

He declined to say how much the control work would cost. However, he compared it to the Mid Dome wilding pine control work in Northern Southland, which cost up to $10 million.

Over 200 delegates are attending the three-day conference in Queenstown this week.

Mount Aspiring Station owner John Aspinall gave a talk on high country management issues and the role of tenure review.

He said wilding conifers were a "huge and widespread" threat.

The Wakatipu group was struggling against the odds with not enough funding, he said.

"We are losing the battle. What we need is a national strategy or plan to identify areas for eradication and control," he said.

He said fire was still a useful tool, but fire breaks were needed around Queenstown township.

The conference also heard from Charles Eason, of Lincoln University, on new, more humane alternatives to 1080.

He said new low-residue toxins were undergoing trials for registration in New Zealand.

Products such as Feratox and zinc phosphide were humane and effective in killing pests.

They had a low secondary poisoning risk, there were antidotes for them and they gave maximum results.

"We've been blinkered in not bringing them in sooner," he said.