Sustainable city Protected Ranges
The voters of Waitakere City made it quite clear what sort of city they want to live in, by voting Team West on to 10 seats in Council. In this landslide result, Go Waitakere lost all their seats. Congratulations to Mayor Bob and his Team West (when only the best will do).
Thanks are due to the people who canvassed on behalf of Team West, and to the voters. This result is a clear mandate for better conservation in the Waitakere Ranges. The voters have signalled that they do not want to see the Ranges threatened with increased subdivision and weaker environmental protection, and it is very clear that people want this city managed in a sensible and sustainable way.
The Society is very pleased with the strong environmental stand that Team West elected members have made, and we look forward to working with Council to ensure that better protection measures are put in place so that the Ranges do not face similar threats in the future.
One way that we can prevent such threats is to resolve the District Plan appeals, and have the Proposed DP become operable as soon as possible. The Society is working towards this by actively seeking out-of-court settlements where possible, looking for the best environmental outcomes while ensuring that private property rights are respected.
We are also working to obtain better protection by exploring ways to gain recognition of the Ranges as a Heritage Park. WRPS Life Member Jack Colmar has been quietly working on this for the past few years, and has obtained letters of support for a Heritage Park from many influential New Zealanders including Members of Parliament, artists, and members of the community. Our consultants have visited heritage parks in Australia, USA and United Kingdom and have collected information about various heritage parks that we should consider as working models.
At our AGM in March next year we hope to stimulate the debate with some exciting new ideas about ways that we can achieve permanent protection for the Ranges.
We thank all of our members for their support during the last year. When times looked bleak and the work load was overbearing, your letters, subscriptions and donations encouraged us, and the Society has grown much stronger and we are more determined than ever to protect the Ranges.
On behalf of your committee, I would like to wish you all a happy (and sustainable) Christmas and New Year, and we look forward to hearing from you in 2002.
John Edgar
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WRPS had its inaugural walk on 25 August 2001 when about 30 people (Society members, donors to the Spragg Bush Conservation Fund, and local residents) celebrated the WRPS purchase of a strategically important piece of bush adjacent to Spraggs Bush.
Near the old gravesites, Jessica Beaver and her remarkable Aunt Kathleen (aged 90) introduced the history of the reserve. Wesley Spragg came to NZ in 1864, and purchased the large property in 1910 for a holiday home. Later he subdivided the parts that were farmland (along what is now Turanga Rd). Much of the intact bush and surrounds was gifted to Auckland City in 1924 as a reserve, and now, 77 years later, WRPS has made a significant addition to it. Wesleys great-granddaughter Jessica and granddaughter Kathleen both have personal memories of the area since childhood, and in Kathleens case that included pre World War 1 recollections of horses grazing where there is now regenerated forest.
As we walked down through the tracks in the original reserve, we had a steady flow of fascinating commentary from Ross Beaver (fungi expert), Jane Alexander and Simon Chapman (ecologists and bat researchers), and Jessica Beaver (bryophyte expert). From Jessica we learned some of the features that distinguish mosses (63 species are present in Spraggs bush) from liverworts (50 species), and the importance of moisture for their survival. This is provided by the low clouds that wreathe the hills for long periods, and is essential to bryophyte reproduction (enabling the moss sperm to swim). The mosses and liverworts show their appreciation of the climate by producing capsules more liberally than in most other areas.
The track to Turanga Rd took us past three huge old kauri, superb podocarps, tall rata, tawari , maire tawake and raukawa, through rich and varied vegetation of all sizes arguably one of the richest areas of the Ranges. The four tree-fern species present each provides a habitat for different groups of mosses, as Jessicas research has discovered. We also marvelled at the current size of trees in the old horse paddock!
Jessica explained the strategic value of 71 Turanga Rd. Valuable in its own right, this pocket of forest also provides vital access to the existing reserve. The track, which currently goes through no. 71, would end abruptly if the property were occupied.
At the end of the walk, a barbecue at Jessica & Ross Beavers provided a sociable end to the occasion, followed by a walk via the connecting track back to the Scenic Drive car park. This must be one of the best short-loop tracks in the Waitakere Ranges.
Although WRPS has purchased no. 71, we are still actively fundraising to repay the loan. We would welcome any donation, large or small. We also have for sale cards featuring fantastic photographs of the local flora ($10 for a set of six from the WRPS secretary phone Linda on 8178332); all proceeds go to the Spragg Bush Conservation Fund.
Colleen Pilcher
Pest Control at Kare Kare
Success!! The ARC have informed us that we will receive $4000 as a result of our application to the Environment Initiative Fund.
We are now organizing ourselves to launch into the project in a big way. We are collecting equipment and resources, and organising groups of volunteers, to try to make a difference to the rodent and mustelid populations at KareKare this season. We will also augment surveys of native plants, birds, and insects in the near future. WRPS has provided the funding for two students to show us the latest in bird survey techniques. We have enlisted on the Conservation Volunteers site www.conservationvolunteers.org.nz in a bid to attract more volunteers to work on the project.
We have traversed a new access track, the Buck Taylor Track, running across Still Gully at the back of Zion Ridge. Over two trips, weve transported 25 baitstations, six Timms traps, and Talon poison. The traps have mainly been catching mice, which are then used as bait in mustelid traps. Only one rat has been caught on this track so far! Bait for the stoat traps is posing a problem for us; freeze-dried rats are effective, but their guaranteed supply is a while off yet. We are considering the use of salted rabbit meat in the interim.
Baitstations have been constructed using drain-flow piping, and these will shortly be distributed to all landowners in the project.
A portable GPS (global positioning system) will be employed to locate the baitstations, the main ridges, and the gullies. We also are setting up new rat-trap lines, including one below Farm Road
Mike Nixon
Forests at Risk from Apple Moth
The Australian Painted Apple Moth first turned up in Glendene two and a half years ago. It is potentially a serious threat to our agriculture and forestry industries, as well as to our native vegetation ecosystems.
The moth has not been eradicated, and continues to pose a very serious threat to the native vegetation of the Waitakeres, (and to the rest of New Zealand if it were allowed to establish). The MAF has failed to eliminate it from West Auckland, and the moth is now present from Point Chevalier to Oratia, Te Atatu and Kaurilands, and may already be in Waitakeres forests. It is still spreading. The situation has developed to the stage where the main hope of its eradication must now depend on aerial spraying.
Spraying is, of course, controversial and we wish it could be avoided, but the moth MUST be eradicated at all costs to save our native bush and agriculture. So we must accept the necessity for spraying, and trust that MAF will take every care and precaution to minimise human contact with the spray and seriously address all potential health issues.
Fears have been raised that ill health and medical problems possibly caused by the spraying of the White-spotted tussock moth in Auckland's eastern suburbs three years ago will appear here. However, the jury is still out on this, and few, if any, of the medical problems said to result from the previous aerial spraying have been scientifically proven. The health of the population in the areas to be sprayed will be monitored, and we hope that a free medical service will be provided for people who think they may have been affected by the spray.
Apart from the potential adverse effects on our agriculture and forestry industries, the Painted Apple Moth must be eradicated as it has the potential to damage seriously and permanently the native forest ecosystem of the Waitakere Ranges. Amongst its preferred host plants are wattles, which abound in the west. More ominously, it has recently been observed in large numbers eating karaka leaves and flowers, and has been found to eat native beeches and brooms in captivity as well as other native species such as kowhai and ribbonwood.
A Community Advisory Group has been established to consult with the community and give residents a means of expressing their concerns, as well as to provide liaison with MAF. This has the strong support of the Mayor and local MPs David Cunliffe and Chris Carter. A Health Advisory Group and a Technical Advisory Group have also been set up, the major concern of the former being potential health hazards. The Technical Advisory Group advises the ministry team on technical issues associated with pest control, spraying and so on. Two Public Meetings have also been called to discuss various aspects of the problem.
WRPS accepts that this moth must be eradicated at all costs, and reluctantly agrees that aerial spraying of the western suburbs and foothills is probably the only means now left for achieving this. However, it also supports efforts to eradicate favoured host plants, and wishes that the $48,000 proposal of the Weedfree Waitakere Trust to remove the wattle trees growing along the motorway edge at Traherne Island (the islet between Waterview and Rosebank Road traverses) be accepted and implemented urgently. This would remove the need to spray that particular area, and it would serve as a trial for larger scale weed-removal along the riparian margins of the Whau.
The suggestion that caterpillars would move to other host plants if their favoured food species are removed seems rather illogical when it is considered that most of the plants in an infested area are likely already to have received dispersing, newly-hatched, airborne caterpillars; only those on the favoured host plant were able to establish and survive.
Letters sent to the Minister of Agriculture, Parliament Buildings, Wellington. (no stamp required), asking that eradication of the Painted Apple Moth be given the greatest urgency and that a better public education campaign about these issues be initiated immediately, could help advance the eradication.
Graeme Ramsay
Ark in the Park
It is pleasing to note that the preparation of a Strategic Plan for a Mainland Island/Ark in the Park in the Waitakere Ranges has been placed in the hands of Jo Ritchie and is expected to be available for comment in the New Year. This is being done with strong support from the ARC. Consultation is taking place, and we are confident that an acceptable and viable plan will result. WRPS has a strong interest in seeing the dream become a reality, especially as the present initiative started with former committee member Keith Strode-Penny. Keith put the proposal forward at a WRPS committee meeting, and then assisted with setting up the first meeting/discussion in conjunction with the Waitakere Branch of the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society.
Graeme Ramsay
Have a conservation Christmas!
Now you can help save the Waitakere Ranges while you celebrate the season!
Ideal for summer barbeques, our quality T-shirts are 100% cotton and carry the Society logo on front and back. You can choose from Green or Natural and sizes S, M, L, XL, XXL or XXXL. At just $25 each (incl p&p) they are a practical way for you to support the Society. Please send payment with your order, stating number, size and colour choice to WRPS, P O Box 15668, New Lynn.
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With three sets to choose from, the unique and attractive Spragg Bush Conservation Cards are ideal for your Christmas greetings. Each set contains five different cards that beautifully capture, in detailed colour photographs, the precious plant life of the Spragg Bush kauri-podocarp-broadleaf forest. You can choose from Mosses & Liverworts, Spore Plants or Flowering Plants. Sets are just $10 each (incl p&p) and the proceeds from your order will go to the Spragg Bush Conservation Fund, administered by the Society. Please send payment and state how many of which set/s you would like, to WRPS, P O Box 15668, New Lynn.
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Caption: A female cone from the kauri, Flowering Plants card set.
New Members
There has been some confusion over when subs are due. We will send you an invoice in February (at the beginning of our financial year) for subs owing. We also follow up with a reminder notice to those who forget.
The form below is for new members or for those people who haven't paid subs since February.
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Name..................................................... Telephone no.................................
Address....................................................................................................
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Family / Group ($25) ............ $ ______ Senior ($15) ................ $ ______
Single ($20)........................ $ ______ Unwaged ($15)............... $ ______
Lifetime ($150 + new member)... $ ______ Corporate ($250 or $500).... $ ______
Donation .............................. $ ______ TOTAL ........................ $ ______
This subscription is: o new o renewal (NB. Receipts not supplied unless requested)
Note: if you do not want to cut into this newsletter, please write appropriate details on a separate sheet and include with your contribution
Send to: Waitakere Ranges Protection Society, PO Box 15668, New Lynn
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WRPS
PO Box 15668
New Lynn