Land

Prosperous community
Healthy environment

Develop pest management strategies.
Eradicate or reduce significant pests (eg, possums, manchurian wildrice, moth plant and rooks).
Reduce numbers of wildlife that transmit bovine Tb to farmed cattle and deer (under contract to the Animal Health Board).
Investigate and manage the use of land.
Assist farmers and the community to protect and enhance the land.
Provide advice on land management
issues.

Activity: Manage pest plants and animals

Regional Pest Management Strategy Review

National Pest Plant Accord (NPPA)

Implement the NPPA by undertaking annual inspections of all plant retailers, wholesalers and markets to ensure no pest plants are being offered for sale, distributed or propagated, and by liaising with our neighbouring councils to prevent movement across borders. The NPPA is an agreement between regional councils, Department of Conservation, Biosecurity New Zealand,
and the Nursery and Garden Industries Association

National Interest Pests

Assist in controlling 10 National Interest Pests under contract to MAF Biosecurity New Zealand on a cost-recovery basis. This work includes monitoring of known sites, surveillance of at-risk sites and contract management

Activity: Control bovine Tb in wildlife

Manage $171,500 hectares of bovine Tb control operations in the region, on behalf of the Animal Health Board, to protect farmed cattle and deer in accordance with the Wellington Bovine Tb Strategic Plan

Activity: Promote sustainable land management

Complete erosion-control programmes to promote good land management practices, including planting poplar poles in our hill country, establishing shelterbelts and riparian (stream-side) planting alongside waterways. Recent government announcements relating to the funding of hill country erosion and afforestation grants under the Sustainable Land Management and Climate Change policies may provide an opportunity for this programme to be accelerated in selected priority catchments
Work with the Wairarapa Hill Country Advisory Committee to review and advance Council policy on sustainable land management

Download the Land (PDF, 270KB) section of the Annual Plan, which includes key projects, key changes, short-term goals and the funding breakdown.