Concerned Nelson residents to fight proposed poison drop- Nelson Mail

SAMANTHA GEE
Last updated 13:06, March 7 2016

Residents in Nelson’s Brook Valley have vowed to take legal action if the application to drop poison in the Brook Sanctuary gains consent.

The Brook Valley Community Group has become an incorporated society so they can apply to the environmental legal assistance fund for help with the costs of preparing a case to to the Environment Court.

Proposal flyer

Poison drops in the Brook Waimarama Sanctuary. Can there be another way?

Conservation Training

This cartoon illustrates well one of many reasons I believe a poison free sanctuary has more to offer the conservation community than does the current approach.

Pest control in New Zealand is undoubtedly a challenging affair. There are certain realities it would be helpful to admit and accept in moving forward with the sanctuary vision that are not currently being addressed.

1. even with pest proof ( or more accurately pest resistant fencing ) the complete exclusion of mice and rodents cannot be guaranteed. See;
2. Known adverse effects:
3. It is well understood that Brodifacoum causes adverse effects in native bird populations through secondary poisoning. It is highly persistent within the environment and within tissues of poisoned animals. This presents a threat to predatory and scavenging birds especially. As Brodifacoum is a slow acting poison, prey species such as rodents can be active and without symptoms for days to weeks after consuming baits.
4. While invertebrates are not susceptible to poisoning they have been shown to retain poison residues for some time after bait application. This poses a risk of secondary poisoning to insectivorous and omnivorous bird species also.
5. Reptiles can also be susceptible to Brodifacoum, with skinks having been found dead with significant Brodifacoum residues.  The Brook Sanctuary is home to a number of lizard species including the rare nelson gecko.
6. While this programme may have the “additional benefits in reducing possums, rabbits, deer, goats and pigs” it is designed for the eradication of rodents specifically. The removal of other “unwanted mammalian species…. Are covered in a seperate plan”
7. The extent of toxicity is not debated. The justification is that adverse effects on native wildlife will be “minor and temporary in nature”

With the sanctuary providing a home to rare species such as the nelson gecko and the NZ falcon, it should be considered wether the loss of any of these individuals can really considered minor.

There are many instances within the application report that discuss how the effects of Brodifacoum on ecosystems are not readily understood, and that further research is required. Such required research remains impossible when the strategy of every NZ conservation project mimics the others. By providing a toxin free environment, the sanctuary trust would have the opportunity to invite comparative research from all around the country.

For example, Stephenson, B. M; Minot, E. O. 2006. Breeding Biology of morepork, discusses how breeding success of morepork was lower in the year following Brodifacoum application, but cannot conclude if this was due to adverse effects from the poison application, or a result of a lower availability of rodents as a food source.

Much doubt exists over wether pest numbers can be brought to a level to allow for the recovery of native fauna witnessed within other sanctuaries. Ongoing trapping has proven an ineffective control method on mainland sanctuaries, as re incursions of pests often overwhelm trapping rates. However, intensive trapping for rodent eradication has not been attempted within a fenced sanctuary in which the reinvasion of pests has been dramatically reduced. It cannot conclusively be said that it cannot be done, and given the risk to wildlife there is certainly an arguement that it should be attempted.

Personally I am somewhat puzzled as to why the area has been trapped for the better part of the last decade. At present, trapping is on hold while the fence is constructed, so pests have been reinvading since construction began. And now the plan is to eradicate all pests, at whatever density they have returned to, via aerial poison drops. What was the point in reducing pest numbers, only to allow them to increase to be killed off by the application of mass toxins?

Is it enough to accept the things you cannot change? Or is this the time to change the things you cannot accept. Think about it. The current resource consent application allows for the poison programme to be delayed until 2017 if it cannot be conducted in 2016. I propose using that year in between closing the fence and the winter of 2017 to apply the best and most innovative pest control technology to investigate if pest numbers can be satisfactorily reduced without aerial poisons. If not, the option is still open for aerial control, and much could be learned about the realities of pest control in the meantime.

Please do share your views. The consent application process does not allow for community discussion on the matter, being of a “limited notification” type, with those limited submissions due Jan 22nd. But that is not to say the discussion should not be had.

I look forward to hearing your views, whatever they may be,

best wishes,

Moira.

 

Poison Drop Resource Consent Application – Documents

Hello Brook Community,

as as you may well be aware, the Brook Sanctuary Trust has announced their intentions to conduct a poison drop within the fenced area once fence building is complete.

Below are the links to documents provided to me by the NCC regarding the Resource Consent Application made by the trust for the proposed aerial poison drops.

Brook Fence from the Air

This is, I suppose, meant to be a promotional video for the fenced sanctuary, personally I only feel a sense of horror at the scale of destruction it showcases. Will it be worth it..? Only time can tell now.

https://vimeo.com/121093416

 

Brook Valley Reserve plan paves way for gondola – Nelson Mail

Bill Moore
Last updated 09:31 June 12 2015

Nelson councillors have almost unanimously backed a management plan for the Brook Valley Recreation Reserve that allows for continued residential camping and a business such as the proposed gondola.

Draft Brook Recreation Reserve Management Plan

Council Attach 11Jun2015

Howdy all, the draft plan is ready! Its a mighty document of 100+ pages, but carefully considered and apparently rather representative of the consultation, which is heartening.
Basically, two options / “visions” are provided,

Abandoned Brook Street centre a ‘wicked waste’ – Nelson Mail

STACEY KNOTT

A set of abandoned classrooms on unstable land up Brook Street has cost Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology $15,000 in lease and security fees, a “wicked waste” according to nearby residents who said the land should never had been built on.

Fence line photos

Some photos of what is happening around here, which appear to show a breach of the conditions of the resource consent through the indiscriminate felling of trees.

“Dun slip ‘shouldn’t happen’ ” – Nelson Weekly

Simon Bloomberg
Nelson Weekly, 24 – 03 – 2015

A slip on the Dun mountain Trail could have been prevented, say two Nelson Residents, who were vocal in their opposition of a new “pest-proof” fence being installed just below the historic track. 

BWST Annual Report 2014

Follow the link below to view the most recent Annual Report from the Sanctuary Trust, 
Annual Report 2014 FINAL Merged with Annual Accounts
some concerning details in here… 

Second Information Act Request – received 15/02/2014

Follow the link below to view documents received  from NCC following an OIA request.

LGOIMA request response

Information Received via Official Information Act Request – 3/12/2014

Follow the link below to view information received from NCC following an OIA request

Feedback on Reserves Plan Sought – Nelson Leader

Public meeting on Brook Reserve Management Plan. Tuesday 17th, 5pm, Council Chambers

Good Question

Uncertainty over Brook camp closure – by Nelson Mail

BILL MOORE
20/05/2014

The Nelson City Council appears to be pulling back from closing the Brook Valley Holiday Park, instead taking a broader look at the area and all the related interests and issues.

Council staff have been looking at the situation since Mayor Rachel Reese stepped in at the end of March and sent the closure proposal back to the community services committee.

Notes on a Meeting with the Mayor

On Saturday April 12th , the residents of the campground had an opportunity to attend a meeting with the mayor, the general manager of the Brook trust, the parks and reserves manager, and councillor Kate Fulton, who chaired the meeting. This was designed to resolve existing confusions about what was to happen with the Brook Campground after the council retracted its closure proposal on the day of public consultation, and then potsed great big “CLOSED” signs onto the camp Entrance, seeminingly formalising a decision that hadnt been made yet.

Park buildings concern – by Nelson Mail

BILL MOORE
05/04/2014

Brook Valley Holiday Park residents fear that the arrival of some conservation training buildings will spell the end of their home but the Brook Waimarama Sanctuary says nothing sinister is going on.

The residents’ committee contacted the Nelson Mail on Thursday after NMIT building students were seen measuring up a site inside the camp, which owner Nelson City Council is proposing to close.

NMIT move in

NMIT building and construction department inspect their new project zone in the heart of The Brook Valley Holiday Park. “It’s happening”.