648 days ago

Forest slash on Coast radar

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press

From local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:

The West Coast Regional Council hired a helicopter to check the forest slash following a cloudburst in December.

The localised 'cloudburst' in the Grey Valley on December 19 sent a wall of logs down Callaghans Creek at Matai, washing out an approach to a rail bridge on the Stillwater-Westport rail link and closing the line for days.

Councillor Peter Ewen raised the matter at a council meeting this week, in the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle.

Acting consents and compliance manager Rachel Clark said that following their investigation into the Matai incident, the council decided that forestry slash "wasn't the total story".

The West Coast experience was that forestry slash was not a particular problem, the meeting heard.

"It is not to the scale here on the Coast that it is there. Certainly what's in the rules allows (foresters) to do what they do with the slash, but that's something going forward that everybody has to reach an agreement as to how the best way to handle it is."

Clark noted there was a requirement which meant "a certain proportion" of cutover material had to be left on the ground after felling to protect the slopes from eroding.

"That's why they do it. There's no doubt there needs to be better ways to (manage) it in the future, but they're not currently doing anything they're not supposed to do."

Following the meeting, Clark said at the time of the Matai incident, the council sent compliance staff up in a helicopter to check the creek catchment above where the damage to the rail corridor occurred.

While they observed "a small amount" of exotic plantation slash, the majority of the contributing problem at Matai was from fallen indigenous trees, following slips in the area as a result of the localised 'cloudburst'.

In her 18 years in the council compliance team, the issue of plantation forest slash had not been remarkable, however that was not to say it would be increasingly evident.

"It's not something that ever comes up as a major problem ... for us it hasn't been what it's like in the North Island. I haven't had too many inquiries."

At this point the regional council did not have a specific rule addressing forest slash, but it could never rule that out.

Forestry operators also had to work to resource consent conditions which were monitored by the council.

The fact some West Coast stream catchments are at a critical erosion point due to the loss of indigenous vegetation killed off by Cyclone Ita eight years ago, is on council's radar.

A case study by council engineer Paulette Birchfield on river and slope stability in the catchment of Lake Stream, a tributary of Mount Rochfort behind Westport, and on hillsides above Barrytown, was presented to the council nearly a year ago.

Her investigation showed the slopes in those locations, and others, were at "a threshold condition" and at a point of "mass movement", ranging from 'soil creep' to landslides.

The effects were being monitored at various sites and becoming critical.

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3 days ago

Worst Xmas ever?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.

Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...

Share your Christmas mishaps below!

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14 days ago

⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️

The Team from SPCA New Zealand

It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:

👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️

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6 days ago

Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.

If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?

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Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
  • 61.7% Summer
    61.7% Complete
  • 36.7% Winter
    36.7% Complete
  • 1.6% Other - I'll share below
    1.6% Complete
1389 votes