In June 2019, the Department of Conservation notified an application to dispose of approximately 5 ha of public conservation land in the Wai-iti River, Spring Grove, Nelson.
While the proposed application may seem of limited interest to our membership, FMC does nonetheless note that in the heavily modified plains of the Waimea River, every little remnant of native vegetation matters, and should be preserved. Additionally, the public land does provide for recreational access to the Wai-iti River. FMC thus submitted against the application.
We have now received the e-mail below from Ron Hazledine, Senior SLM Advisor in DOC’s Hokitika Shared Service Centre:
“I am writing to advise you that the proposed disposal of approximately 5 ha of public conservation land in the Wai-iti River will now not go ahead.
The public hearing raised significant concern that this land, if disposed, would have a significant impact on the amount of conservation land available for restoration. The fact that there is little public conservation land available in the Waimea district for restoration, made this land more significant than was first realized. These concerns have been accepted as justification to now decline the application.
Thank you for your input into this proposal.”
FMC would like to thank the Department of Conservation for taking on board the concerns expressed by the public, and Forest & Bird for their strong submission against the proposal.
