Award Nominee

The Lindis Pass Conservation Group (Incorporated Society) was formed in December 2004 when the DOC Twizel Area Office approached Forest and Bird Upper Clutha members to suggest forming a community group to do work in the reserve at the Lindis Pass as a possible branch activity.

The Lindis Pass Reserve is a subalpine to alpine snow tussock reserve straddling the State Highway between Wanaka and Omarama. It extends either side of the Lindis Pass, and is technically in both Otago and Canterbury conservancies. The group works in the reserve through the Twizel area office, although Otago DOC carries out work in the reserve on the Otago side.

The prime activity of the group, whose membership is around 20, is to rid the reserve of exotic weeds to improve the natural and landscape values of the reserve.

Sweet briar is the main woody weed. Cutting the bushes and painting the stems with Vigilant gel was the main control method, supplemented by full foliar spraying with Grazon which has proved successful. We improved our method over the past seasons:

It is necessary to cut the shrub down to as few stems as possible to ensure all are treated as close to the ground as possible. Treatment is carried out in the late spring/early summer and in late summer-autumn. The cut branches are left in situ. Stem spraying may prove successful in the autumn winter period.

Wanting to improve weed control we will trial spraying stems with an oil/Grazon mix this autumn. This method was suggested to us by the DOC Twizel Area Office.

It is not possible to clear the large bushes that are along the highway margin due to safety regulations, however DOC has undertaken to spray these bushes. DOC Twizel is currently negotiating with LTANZ over a plan to enable continued roadside control of brier as well as extending it to control lupin and other roadside weeds that seem to be imported with road gravel.

To date, the whole road corridor on the Canterbury side has been cleared of sweet briar with the exception of the large bushes right on the highway s edge and those bushes above the road on pastoral lease. Most of the Otago side is also free of brier along the highway, thanks to the combined efforts of the group and DOC. This has restored the visual and natural integrity of the reserve in this area, and the group continues to gain positive feedback from members of the public on the work done. However re-growth is an ongoing issue as well as new plants growing up, and repeat visits will be necessary for some time yet to rid the area of sweet briar altogether.

If we had a dollar for every tourist and visitor photo taken we would be a very well funded recovery group. Sadly we have had some set backs with an unfortunate corporate cable laying experience through the reserve, cutting a path that is still visible after four years, destroying some mature shrubs, and spreading Russell Lupin along the length of the disturbed area.

Apart from regrowth briar, challenges are a persistent area of yellow broom, the Russell lupins and tree lupin, and the heavily weed infested area where Transit New Zealand has piled gravel at the Pass. Old photos show that there was once only tussock on the road verge.

The Group is continuing to muster 4-6 workdays every spring to autumn season since 2005 with very observable results. Some 100-120 volunteer hours on site (and many hours travelling, off site planning and facilitating the work also!) are spent annually.

However regeneration from new briar seedlings and some regrowth is ever present and requires continuous follow up. These follow sweeps have been mixed with forays into as yet uncontrolled briar groves up some of the side gullies.

In addition to weed control work, regular rubbish runs either side of the highway are undertaken, they are disappointing in terms of the reccurring volume and variety of rubbish left by travellers and collected by us.

Rats in and around the rubbish bins indicate that rubbish bins would be best removed altogether, encouraging people to take their travel bags of garbage elsewhere.

Exploratory walks are taken to observe the plant life and a chance to see skinks and simply to enjoy the high country.

As the reserve is much degraded in places through over-grazing, hieracium spread and erosive earth disturbance, the group has a stated objective to aid tussock recovery. This has received a significant boost with the group s successful funding bid to the Community Conservation Fund for funds to research propagation and restoration planting options to enhance tussock recovery. The trial re-planting of tall tussock carried out this past spring is attached as a Plan.

The Group is working with several nurseries and trialling seed and vegetative propagation methods along with different replanting treatments to identify the best options of propagation and replanting tussock within the Lindis Reserve area.

It is intended to have snow tussocks grown on for restoration efforts and share this knowledge and experience for other like-minded projects. This project should in the long run cover much of the ground where weeds can grow at the moment.

The Group has been very pleased to have been able to support DOC and to have an active partnership in its management and stewardship role of the Lindis Pass Scenic Reserve.

I’ll send some additional material such as mentioned planting plan, photos etc by email.