16 November 2005

An information evening organised by the Department of Conservation hopes to allay any residual concerns over the aerial spraying of wilding pine trees at Mid Dome.

Tomorrow night the department will meet with members of the public to answer any questions they might have before the start of the 2005/2006 aerial spray programme.

Programme manager Jessyca Bernard said the meeting was organised to ensure continued and open discussions with the community, it was not designed to go over old ground.

“We hope people take this opportunity meet with us and hear in detail about the programme, how it is going to operate and what changes have been made since the last operation in January 2004,” Ms Bernard said.

Earlier this year the department was granted a six year resource consent for the aerial spray programme at Mid Dome.

“Our goal is to work with the community, to keep them informed and up-to-date with proceedings. If they have any further questions then the meeting is the time to address them. We want to be as transparent as possible throughout this entire process,” Ms Bernard said.

Following the spray drift which occurred during the last programme a number of procedures had been implemented including intensive weather monitoring, an increase in the droplet size of spray and limiting the area sprayed to 70 hectares at any one time.

Ms Bernard said the more people at the meeting the better informed the department would be as to the best practices for communication and public notification.

“We want to run with what works most effectively and efficiently for the community and in order for that to happen we require their input.”

As well as having a representative at the water trial the department would be offering the chance at the meeting for two or three nominated representatives from the community to be present during the rest of the operation.

Ends

For more information please contact programme manager Jessyca Bernard at the Department of Conservation Southland, Tel: +64 3 214 4589 or

Email:  jbernard@doc.govt.nz.

Additional information:

• Spraying is the most effective technique presently available for controlling the confined 470 hectares of dense wildering pines on the inaccessible western slopes of Mid Dome.

• The spraying will give a quick initial knock down and prevent further ‘seed rain' from the top of Mid Dome.

• If no action is taken to halt the spread of wild pine trees from Mid Dome, the entire area down wind of Mid Dome will progressively become infested. This will affect public conservation land, crown pastoral lease and private farm land.

• Diquat or by trade name “Reglone' is the chemical nominated for use in the resource consent.

• Reglone is a desiccant spray which has been commonly used in New Zealand for around 40 years especially on food crops such as potatoes for pre-harvesting.

• The spray drift that occurred in January 2004 has been fully investigated by an independent and leading NZ expert Euan Wallace, a forensic horticultural consultant for Havelock North. All 13 recommendations from his investigations were taken into consideration for the 2005/06 operation.

• To prevent spray drift occurring again, the department engaged specialists to advise on weather monitoring requirements and the aerial spray techniques that need to be employed.