Queenstown councillors have unanimously approved the ‘conifer succession plan’ at a community and services committee meeting, instructing staff to enter an MOU with the Friends of the Whakatipu Gardens (FOG) and the district’s wilding control group (WCG).
The Douglas fir conifers, which cover about a third of the Gardens’ 15 hectares, were planted by the town’s founding fathers as a windbreak for the Gardens’ ornamental trees, rose garden and bowls and tennis clubs.
In a report for the committee, parks planning boss Briana Pringle said the trees were a pest species that degraded soil quality, spread seeds and caused biodiversity loss.
Those factors and their advancing age meant a succession plan for their gradual replacement, over 60 to 80 years, with natives and exotics, maintaining the windbreak function, was needed.
A draft plan attracted 44 submissions, of which 23 were supportive and four neutral.
Submitters raised concerns about the potential loss of wind shelter, but showed support for native replanting and the plan’s long timeframe, Pringle said.
A desire for regular reviews prompted suggestions for an MOU with FOG, WCG and any future stakeholder groups.
The new plantings will begin this spring with 72 natives and exotics going into five sites, followed by 93 trees next autumn.
