Jump to: How the National Environmental Standard helps limit wilding spread risk
New Zealand’s wilding conifer (aka wilding pine) problem dates back to the first introductions of exotic conifers here in the 1800s. That’s one reason that seeing the (well-managed) forest from the (wilding) trees can be tricky.
As partners in the National Wilding Conifer Control Programme, Biosecurity New Zealand and NZ Forest Owners Association have collaborated on this article to make a start at clearing the view. It looks at where most wildlings come from; the forestry industry’s roles in preventing wilding spread and removing legacy wildings; the differences between ‘big’ plantations and ‘small’ forestry plantings, and the rules (old and new) designed to limit wilding spread. In future articles we will look at ways to spot the difference between a wilding infestation and planted stands, and wildings as biofuel.
Where the wildings come from
Simon Upton, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, in his address to the Wilding Pines Conference in Queenstown in October 2023, noted that the majority of wilding infestation issues result from legacy plantings of decades past.
Some of those plantings were linked to historical government policy settings and forest planting strategies, including forestry research trials of various potential production species, which laid the early foundations for the production forestry industry. Some were planted with environmental goals such as soil conservation and erosion control.
Government policies around forestry have since changed, and likewise the plantation forestry industry has made changes to minimise the wilding risk of some commercially grown species. Prominent wilding-prone species are no longer used widely in contemporary plantations. The most invasive wilding species, Lodgepole pine or Pinus contorta – declared an unwanted organism in 2001[1] – has not been commercially planted for many decades. Today, 90% of the commercial forests in New Zealand are planted in Pinus radiata, a relatively low wilding risk in most regions.
In 2018 a National Environmental Standard for Plantation Forestry (NES-PF), developed with councils, industry and experts, came into force. The new regulations matched or lifted the standard of prior-existing council plan rules, and introduced requirements where rules were not already in place. The NES-PF 2018 provided national consistency in how plantation forests were regulated to manage a range of environmental risks throughout the life cycle of a plantation forest (plantation forest = a forest planted with the intention to be harvested). That included the requirement to assess and manage the risk of wilding spread.
Responsible forest management
Photo of native growth beneath a plantation forest in Northland. Supplied by Forest Owners Association.
Foresters and wilding management
Sherman Smith, Manager of the National Wilding Conifer Control Programme, notes that the industry is well aware of its role and responsibilities in wilding management.
"The FOA was at the table in 2014 in drafting the national wilding conifer management strategy and has done some good work both on helping control legacy wildings within and around their forests and making management decisions that minimise potential spread from plantations. In several regions that have a problem with Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) spread), forest owners have supported collective control programmes by choosing to harvest ‘Douglas’ blocks early, forgoing potential income, to prevent further seed spread.
“Many forestry companies also voluntarily invest significant time and money into proactively controlling the spread of legacy wildings,” says Elizabeth.
From a survey of its members, the FOA reports spending of millions each year by the industry on wilding control, mostly dealing with non-commercial or legacy species such as contorta pine.
Graphs from: Peter Oliver, General Manager, Forest Assets, City Forests (click graphs to enlarge images)
Wilding Pine Conference attendees (2022 and 2023) have heard about some of the work undertaken by responsible operators in the forest industry in collaboration with neighbouring properties, such as:
“The industry is also interested in new technologies being trialled to help prevent and manage the spread of wilding conifers and wants to connect with wilding control work near production forestry, since ultimately, combatting wilding spread will require ongoing collaboration from all,” says Elizabeth Heeg.
For queries relating to wilding conifers and forestry, contact the National Programme team at Biosecurity New Zealand at wilding.pines@mpi.govt.nz or Rachel Millar, FOA Environmental Manager at Rachel.Millar@nzfoa.org.nz or regarding the NES-CF, contact Te Uru Rākau – New Zealand Forest Service at NES-CF@mpi.govt.nz.
For more information
NZ Forest Owners Association Welcome to the Forest Owners Association (nzfoa.org.nz)
NZ Forestry facts and figures Facts and Figures (nzfoa.org.nz)Facts and Figures (nzfoa.org.nz)
NZ Farm Forestry Association NZ Farm Forestry - Home (nzffa.org.nz)
Ministry for the Environment Is your forest covered by the NES-CF
[1] https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/pests-and-threats/weeds/common-weeds/wilding-conifers/
Spread from a shelter belt in Southland. Supplied by Environment Southland.
The NES-PF included the requirement to use the wilding tree risk calculator, developed by Scion, to assess the level of wilding spread risk before planting a new plantation forest. Where the risk was high, councils could impose conditions through a resource consent to manage wilding spread risk, or even refuse a resource consent.
These rules did not apply to forests not intended for harvest, nor to replanting of existing production forests in the same species (though some councils had local rules to manage this). This has changed from October 2023 under the new National Environmental Standards for Commercial Forestry (NES-CF), which replaces the NES-PF.
Among the changes, under the new NES-CF the wilding spread risk assessment must be carried out before planting any commercial forest over 1 hectare, including permanent/carbon forests known as “exotic continuous-cover forests”. It also applies to replanting after a production forest is harvested.
The National Wilding Conifer Control Programme’s Technical Advisory Group provided input into these changes, designed to help reduce the negative impacts of wilding spread, and is now working with Te Uru Rākau – NZ Forest Service on updates to the wilding tree risk calculator, including guidance and training material for councils and foresters.
There is more information on the Ministry for the Environment website including this fact sheet: Is your forest covered by the NES-CF
