Funding cut a ‘knife to the guts’

THOSE involved in a decadeslong fight to stop wilding pine spreading in the high country of northern Southland say they have received a knife to the guts and are considering walking away.

The Mid Dome Wilding Trees Charitable Trust had a meeting with invited guests in East Dome in Southland yesterday, which outlined the achievements made by the trust and issues it faced.

The main concern was the pulling of funding for getting rid of wilding pines.

In the 2020 Budget, the government committed $100 million over four years to the National Wilding Conifer Control programme established in 2016 to ensure a collaborative, coordinated and effective approach to national wilding management. It is now threatened with a drastic cut, down to just $10 million a year.

At the meeting, Mid Dome Wilding Charitable Trust trustee Richard Bowman described the loss of funding as devastating.

“It’s like a knife to the guts, with all the hard work disappearing down the tube,” he said.

The cuts would lead to Mid Dome Wilding Trust no longer being able to afford to aerial spray.

The trust was set up in 2006 in response to the need to eradicate the invasive pest pinus contorta after it was planted by government agencies in the 1950 and ’60s to stop erosion.

Nokomai Station owner Brian Hore said it had always been a bad idea.

“In the ’50s, in their wisdom, they put a four wheel drive track up Mid Dome and got the borstal boys from Invercargill to plant,’’ he said.

‘‘My father Frank tried to have them removed, however the High Country Committee dismissed him and called him Pine Tree Frank.”

The pines have spread far and wide since.

Mid Dome Wilding Trust chairwoman Ali Ballantine said having helped establish the trust and been involved in trying to eradicate the pest pine for decades she was ready to walk away.

“If this is not dealt with these pines will stretch to Central

Otago. They have a monoculture that wipe out everything else around them and spread prolifically,’’ she said.

About $20 million had been spent so far battling the pines both from the air and by ground.

It was estimated another 18,000ha needed to be dealt with and a further $20 million dollars needed over the next decade to complete the job, she said.

Emotions ran high at yesterday’s meeting as trustees said if the trust was not funded to aerial spray the eradication project it will be set back 10 years and increase eradication costs by $13 million.

Environment Southland, the Department of Conservation and Land Information New Zealand also contribute to the eradication project.

Clutha Southland National MP Joseph Mooney was at the meeting.

He was non committal but did say he would be advocating to keep these programmes going.

Mr Hore said though his father was vindicated in the end he was furious about the pest pines been planted until he died aged 94.