Wilding conifers across Central Otago continue to be a controversial issue, and the group involved in their control has just strengthened its membership.

The Central Otago Wilding Conifers Control Group held its AGM in Alexandra on Tuesday night (October 11), and appointed former Central Otago District Council (CODC) chief executive John Cooney as its new chair.

Lake Hayes-based Richard Bowman stood down but will remain on the committee, and is still heavily involved nationally as chair of the Wilding Pine Network NZ.

Project manager Phil Murray has now moved into an executive role as deputy chair and has been replaced by Pete Oswald, of Arrowtown.

Phil said, when contacted, that there was a strong turnout to the AGM and as a result they have appointed several new committee members.

Sir Grahame Sydney and John Breen remain on the committee, along with agency representatives Rhys Jenkins (Department of Conservation), Kevin Gallagher (LINZ), Gavin Udy (Otago Regional Council), Nicola Holmes (DOC), and a new appointment from the CODC.

Since 2014, the group has spent $3M and cleared trees from 400,000 ha of land across the district.

Phil said the biggest challenge for the group was getting awareness out in the community about trees on landowner’s properties, “and whether they are spreading onto neighbouring land”.

One of the group’s roles was to educate landowners about transitioning their own plantings into species that don’t spread.

The seeds from one of the typical wilding pine species Pinus contorta can spread around 15,000 seeds each year for kilometres in the wind.

While many people have grown accustomed to having these trees around, the trade off was that they presented a very real and major fire risk to communities.

“The fire risk to our region is significant in areas where pine trees border our homes. Understanding this is an important step in making the right choices and reducing risk factors.”

James Knapp, from Fire and Emergency (FENZ) also spoke at the AGM regarding this direct threat, particularly for communities where wilding conifers bordered the towns.

In 2021 one of the country’s worst wildfires tore through more than 5,000 hectares at Lake Ohau, destroying 48 homes.

An infestation of wilding pines provided the perfect fuel for this blaze, which cost $1.6M to bring under control.

The CODC has currently consulted the community regarding The Half Mile Recreation Reserve in Alexandra, which has been identified as a significant ‘seed take off’ site (see photo).

An aerial shot above Alexandra showing the work already done to destroy wilding pines (left), and on the top right, the controversial Half Mile area also planned for tree removal

The council received funding from the Central Otago Wilding Conifer Control Programme and has budgeted funds to remove these wilding conifers.

But neighbouring residents recently opposed the work, as they value these conifers through providing shelter, amenity and as an attractive entranceway into Alexandra.

“We acknowledge the council is carrying out plans to remove conifers out of their reserves, and that’s setting a good example in the community,” Phil said.