Newsletter No. 4 - September 2009

www.soundsrestoration.org.nz

Wilding pine control kicks off
The Trust's 2009-10 wilding pine programme got underway in Inner Queen Charlotte Sound in September, with contractors working in Blackwood Bay, Torea Bay and the coastal faces between Whatamango Bay and Kahikatea Bay.
The good spring weather allowed excellent progress to be made, and work will now continue through until Christmas.
This year's programme is being financially supported by the New Zealand Lottery Grants Board's Environment and Heritage Fund, Canterbury Community Trust, Department of Conservation, Marlborough District Council, New Zealand King Salmon Company Ltd, and dozens of private landowners.
A small control operation has also commenced on private land in Elie Bay, in Pelorus Sound, with support from the Biodiversity Condition Fund.

Nufarm NZ becomes Trust supporter
In August, Nufarm NZ Ltd announced generous in-kind support, providing the Trust with 50kg of Associate 600® herbicide. The additional supply of free herbicide will ensure the Trust's funding is able to stretch as far as possible, as herbicide is a significant expense to the programme. Nufarm NZ's Brands Manager Bianca Wiggins said the Trust's innovative approach to the wilding pine problem really appealed to them. "It's very much in line with Nufarm's history of developing new ways to use existing chemistry. The Trust has got a great programme in place and we are proud to support it."

How do contractors find trees?
Our contractors have poisoned thousands of wilding pines in the Sounds since the programme began last year, with very few trees missed.
The Trust is often asked how its contractors find the trees hidden in regenerating bush, as it can be impossible to see what's ahead of you when surrounded by a 4m-high kanuka canopy.
The preferred way we find the trees is with aerial photographs. In the photo below, approximately 75 trees are visible as dark spots.

Mapping programmes allow the Trust to number each visible tree off the aerial photograph, and identify its geographical co-ordinates as a 'waypoint', marked on the photo below.

The waypoints are then loaded onto each contractor's portable GPS unit. By using the GPS in the field, contractors can navigate to within about 20m of a tree, even if they can't see it among regenerating native vegetation.
At the same time, the GPS unit can be set to automatically record the places contractors walk. These 'track logs', shown below, quickly confirm whether the contractor has treated each tree, and allows the Trust to identify any trees that they missed. In fact, it would be possible to monitor a contractor's progress from the other side of the world!

Further support needed
Fund-raising is now getting underway to complete initial control throughout all high-priority areas of Inner Queen Charlotte Sound during 2010-11. Approximately $160,000 will be needed to undertake the programme, with control likely to focus on Lochmara and Onahau bays, and the Grove Arm. If you are interested in supporting the programme, either through financial or in-kind support, please contact the Trust at 027 6228135 or info@soundsrestoration.org.nz.