Environment Southland
Wieder Martin Slíva is clearing land in Fiordland of invasive plant species cotoneaster and Darwin’s barberry as part of the Fiordland Buffer Zone project.
More than 100,000 invasive plant seeds have been taken out of circulation in Fiordland by tourists affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Fiordland Buffer Zone project provided employment to 92 people working in the tourism industry.
Fiordland, which was largely dependent on tourism, was hit hard when its borders closed in March 2020, and weed coordinator Kylie Krippner said the project had been a “gift from heaven” for most of Te Anau’s tourism-based contractors. , because it has flexible hours around regular jobs affected by Covid-19.
“This has given them purpose in such an uncertain time and increased their enthusiasm for the environment and conservation.”
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The project is run by Environment Southland and funded by DOC through Jobs for Nature, and the plan was to protect Fiordland National Park from weeds, cotoneaster and Darwin’s barberry.
Weed control was carried out through a 1 km buffer zone along the park from Manapouri in the south to Milford Sound in the north.
The first season of work focused on seed control.
“The teams have taken hundreds of thousands of seeds out of circulation for the next fruiting season, but we are seeing seedlings come out of control in 2021. We are asking residents to keep an eye on new growth and remove any small seedlings by hand to need larger ones. seedlings may be treated with chemicals,” she said.
This weeding season ended in late May, with the nine contracted teams covering 1,600 acres and 2,246 sections in Te Anau.
In addition to the sections, the weeder teams have covered the shores of the lake between the township and Control Gates, Ivon Wilson Park, between Control Gates and Balloon Loop, the waterfront from Manapouri to Pearl Harbor and Home Creek.
“Our contractors working at Balloon Loop have, through vigilant surveillance, found the invasive weeds we’re targeting in Fiordland National Park, so it’s clear that the work we’re doing is timely to prevent the raid is spreading throughout the park,” Krippner said.
Selected teams will be re-contracted from September to the end of December, when the project ends.
In the coming season, work will focus on completing active control areas and towards Manapouri.