Forest industry representatives, council staff from Marlborough, Nelson and Tasman, local Sounds councillors, contractors and landowners gathered ‘under the canopy’ late last year as part of a Te Hoiere Forestry Field Trip.
Organised and initiated by the Top of the South Wood Council (TOTSWC), the day was attended by 39 people. It featured visits to two of five innovative research projects - a sediment loading study and a post-harvest riparian native regeneration project - currently in progress and funded by Te Hoiere Project in the catchment.
First up was a visit to Marberry Forest on Kenningtons Road near Okaramio where a sediment loading study is well underway to understand current sediment levels in the forest’s stream prior to harvest. The site is first rotation forestry where there has been no previous harvesting or earthworks. Harvest is due to start at the end of this year.
M&R Forestland Management Ltd Environmental Manager Anna Batty was joined by Patrick Butler, NIWA Environmental Monitoring Technician, on the day to explain the intricacies of the monitoring work including the weir and water sampling system designed to understand the flow, the discharge and the volume of water coming from the catchment. NIWA have been engaged to help with the study.
M&R manage the 200ha Kenningtons Forest on behalf of Marberry Estate Ltd who own 7000ha of forest in Te Tau Ihu/Top of the South. “Marberry Estate LTD promote and drive environmental excellence and continuous improvement and are in full support of the work, contributing in kind to the study,” Anna said.
She said the aim was to measure the suspended sediment load coming from the catchment while under full forest cover. “It’s a baseline study with a 12-month monitoring timeframe before any harvest and associated earthworks activity takes place.”
TOTSWC Executive Officer Angela MacKenzie said the study would serve as a critical baseline for future monitoring and management efforts and inform similar studies on other land uses in the area.
“We’re working with Te Hoiere Project on five forestry innovation projects – the sediment loading study, the OneFortyOne Tin Line Forest Riparian Regeneration Project, a land transition study, a research project aimed at controlling the numbers of introduced ungulates and understanding the impacts these animals have on indigenous forest succession, and an access toolkit and forest database aimed at researchers and monitoring teams,” she said.
During the field trip, Jeremy Patterson-Green from Green Forest and Resource Solutions Ltd led the group through the workings of the Riparian Regeneration Project. He explained the project design, use of technology and the different trial areas.
“It was great to show everyone on the field trip the riparian regeneration project as well. This will establish and test a number of current options in post-harvest riparian management in Te Hoiere to identify either the most successful in terms of biodiversity and stream health or the factors that contribute to the most successful restorative outcomes,” Angela said.
The day also included lunch and networking at the Pelorus Bridge Campground.
