The Teviot Valley Community Board has agreed to replant the Grovers Hill site damaged by a severe weather event last year.

The board considered three replanting options for the Grovers Hill site put forward by the Central Otago District Council (CODC) at its meeting last week (November 24).

The forested area contained several walking trails developed by the community until a 2021 storm damaged the forestry plantation to such an extent that all trees had to be harvested. 

The 12 hectare reserve (part of the Roxburgh Recreation Reserve) was planted in Pinus radiata in 1984 under a Forestry Encouragement Agreement for future income purposes. 

The forestry block was registered by the council as a pre-1990 forest under the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme, and as a result CODC received 60 carbon credits per hectare for its forest assets, which it has retained in its Carbon Holding Account. 

Replanting must be undertaken within four years of harvest to ensure the council does not face carbon credit penalties, a CODC report stated.

The damaged trees were harvested during the early part of 2022 with some residual trees removed in October 2022.

The council report recommended the area be replanted with 11 hectares of Pinus attenuata and one hectare of mixed natives to “soften the visual impact of plantation”.

Two other options were given: 12 hectares of native forestry crop, or 12 hectares of mixed natives.

 Council’s forestry adviser recommended the best option for replanting was Pinus radiata and attenuata hybrid, a species which does not spread like traditional Pinus radiata.

The council (which owns the forest and adjacent land) would manage any seedling activity that might occur on adjacent land.

The council report said the recommended option’s benefits included its lower establishment costs (approximately $68,000), lower pest and weed control requirements, its hardiness and fast growth rate. 

The community developed trails which had been established inside and outside the forested area would be re-established on different alignments following planting, the CODC said.