Ordinary meeting of the
Forestry Subcommittee
Te Kōmiti Āpiti, Ngahere
Agenda
Rārangi take
Membership Mr John Murray (Chairperson)
Her Worship the Mayor Rachel Reese
Councillor Kate Fulton
Councillor Tim Skinner
Independent Forestry Expert, Peter Gorman
Group Manager Infrastructure, Alec Louverdis
Quorum: 5, comprising the Chair and two elected member (decision makers), plus one Council officer and the independent forestry expert (for advice only)
Pat Dougherty
Chief Executive
Nelson City Council Disclaimer
Please note that the contents of these Council and Committee Agendas have yet to be considered by Council and officer recommendations may be altered or changed by the Council in the process of making the formal Council decision.
This is a subcommittee that reports to Council.
· All matters relating to the commercial forestry operational portfolio including environmental and recreational issues
· In accordance with Council’s Annual Plan and Long Term Plan:
o Approval of forestry and harvesting management strategy and plans
o Approval of the engagement of contractors/consultants and forestry tenders
· Any actions relating to the oversight of all matters relating to the commercial forestry portfolio, falling outside the powers to decide, including:
o Approval of forestry related budgets; and
o Any other matters relating to continuing commercial forestry operations.
For the Terms of Reference for the Forestry Subcommittee please refer to document A1739267.
Forestry
Subcommittee
23 March 2021
1. Apologies
Nil
2. Confirmation of Order of Business
3.1 Updates to the Interests Register
3.2 Identify any conflicts of interest in the agenda
Document number M15312
Recommendation
That the Forestry Subcommittee 1. Confirms the minutes of the meeting of the Forestry Subcommittee, held on 1 December 2020, as a true and correct record. |
6. Chairperson's Report
7. Forestry Update - Number 14 10 - 25
Document number R22589
Recommendation
That the Forestry Subcommittee 1. Receives the report Forestry Update - Number 14 (R22589) and its Attachments (A2582672, A2577989 and A2578176); and 2. Agrees on a harvesting date for the Nelson City Council owned Brook blocks to be May to September 2021.
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Forestry Subcommittee Minutes - 1 December 2020
Minutes of a meeting of the Forestry Subcommittee
Held in the Rūma Waimārama, Floor 2A, Civic House, 110 Trafalgar Street, Nelson
On Tuesday 1 December 2020, commencing at 3.06p.m.
Present: Mr J Murray (Chairperson), Her Worship the Mayor R Reese, Councillors K Fulton, T Skinner, Mr P Gorman (Independent Forestry Expert), Mr A Louverdis (Group Manager Infrastructure) and Mr P Harrington (Officer)
In Attendance: PF Olsen representatives (S Nuske and K Richards), LandVision Ltd representative (L Grant) and Governance Adviser (J Brandt)
Apologies : Councillor T Skinner (lateness)
1 Apologies
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Resolved FS/2020/027 |
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That the Forestry Subcommittee 1. Receives and accepts an apology for lateness from Councillor T Skinner.
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Murray/Her Worship the Mayor Carried |
2. Confirmation of Order of Business
There was no change to the order of business.
3. Interests
There were no updates to the Interests Register, and no interests with items on the agenda were declared.
4. Public Forum
There was no public forum.
5. Confirmation of Minutes
5.1 29 September 2020
Document number M15167, agenda pages 6 - 9 refer.
Resolved FS/2020/028 |
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That the Forestry Subcommittee 1. Confirms the minutes of the meeting of the Forestry Subcommittee, held on 29 September 2020, as a true and correct record. |
Murray/Her Worship the Mayor Carried |
6 Chairperson's Report
The Chairperson, Mr Murray, acknowledged that the Forestry Advisory Group had been renamed to Forestry Subcommittee since the last meeting. He thanked departing member Councillor Sanson for her contribution to the Group in the last year, and welcomed the new members, Councillors Fulton and Skinner. |
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Resolved FS/2020/029 |
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That the Forestry Subcommittee 1. Receives the verbal Chairperson’s report. |
Murray/Her Worship the Mayor Carried |
7 Draft 2021-31 Forestry Activity Management Plan
Document number R20298, agenda pages 10 - 60 refer. Group Manager Infrastructure, Alec Louverdis, presented the report. He answered questions about the Emissions Trading Scheme, financial projections, iwi engagement, biodiversity, and the process to retire forestry blocks. The Subcommittee requested that additional detail be included in the introductory section of the Forestry Activity Management Plan about Council’s decision to retire part of its commercial forestry, following the commissioning of and recommendations from the Catalyst Group report (July 2016), entitled ‘Nelson City Council’s production forests – Assessment of non-monetary values’. Attendance: Councillor Skinner joined the meeting at 3.40p.m. Discussion took place regarding the purpose of the Forestry Activity Management Plan, as stated in the executive summary page (agenda page 22). It was agreed to change the wording to the following: The Goal of the Forestry Activity in relation to its production forests are to manage its forest estate on a sustainable basis and to maximise net present value, and to implement best practice forest industry standards while protecting environmental and recreational values. The motion was taken in parts. |
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Resolved FS/2020/030 |
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That the Forestry Subcommittee 1. Receives the report Draft 2021-31 Forestry Activity Management Plan (R20298) and its Attachment (A2072414); and |
Skinner/Fulton Carried |
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Resolved FS/2020/031 |
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That the Forestry Subcommittee 2. Approves the amended Draft Forestry Activity Management Plan 2021-31 (A2072414) as the version to be forwarded to Council as the version to inform the Long Term Plan 2021-31. |
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Fulton/Skinner Carried |
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Resolved FS/2020/032 |
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That the Council 1. Approves the amended Draft Forestry Activity Management Plan 2021-31 (A2072414) as the version to inform the Long Term Plan 2021-31; and 2. Notes that the amended Draft Forestry Activity Management Plan 2021-31 will be updated and, the final Activity Management Plan approved, after the adoption of the Long Term Plan 2021-2031. |
Fulton/Murray Carried |
8. Forestry Stewardship Council Management Plan - Deliberations
Document number R20333, agenda pages 61 - 205 refer.
Team Leader Parks and Facilities Activity Management, Paul Harrington, presented the report. He noted the need for a further amendment to the Forestry Stewardship Council Management Plan, to reflect the decision made by the Forestry Advisory Group on 5 May 2020 to replant Marsden Block 42.06 in radiata pine.
Forestry representation on the Biodiversity Forum was discussed.
PF Olsen Representative, Kit Richards, answered questions about the proposed amendments to the Forestry Stewardship Council Management Plan.
The motion was taken in parts.
Resolved FS/2020/033 |
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That the Forestry Subcommittee 1. Receives the report Forestry Stewardship Council Management Plan - Deliberations (R20333) and its attachments (A2476873 and A2514843); and |
Her Worship the Mayor/Fulton Carried |
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Resolved FS/2020/034 |
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That the Forestry Subcommittee 2. Determines having considered the written and oral submissions that the proposed amendments to the Forestry Stewardship Council Management Plan as set out in Attachment 2 (A2514843) of Report R20333, and as further amended on 1 December 2020 by the Forestry Subcommittee, be accepted; and |
Her Worship the Mayor/Fulton Carried |
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Resolved FS/2020/035 |
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That the Forestry Subcommittee 3. Agrees to seek Forestry Stewardship Council accreditation for Nelson City Council’s forestry estate. |
Her Worship the Mayor/Fulton Carried |
9. Forestry Update - Number 14
Document number R20334, agenda pages 206 - 217 refer. Team Leader Parks and Facilities Activity Management, Paul Harrington, presented the report.
The subcommittee requested officers to review the way Forestry is being financially accounted for and reported on.
Resolved FS/2020/036 |
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That the Forestry Subcommittee 1. Receives the report Forestry Update - Number 14 (R20334) and its Attachments (A2518534, A2518573 and A2518533). |
Skinner/Fulton Carried |
There being no further business the meeting ended at 4.39p.m.
Confirmed as a correct record of proceedings:
Chairperson
Date
Item 7: Forestry Update - Number 14
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Forestry Subcommittee 23 March 2021 |
REPORT R22589
Forestry Update - Number 14
1. Purpose of Report
1.1 To provide an update to the Forestry Advisory Group (Group) on forestry activities undertaken since Council adopted the Forestry Review recommendations in September 2016, and since the December 2020 update.
2. Recommendation
3. Harvesting
Bridges
3.1 An update of the progress with the bridges is shown below.
Maitai |
Work commenced on 24 February 2021 and is expected to take approximately 8 weeks to complete. The 22 metre long bridge will span the river and replace the existing ford crossing. The bridge will ensure that the freshwater quality of the river is maintained during any harvesting, and vehicle traffic will no longer require to cross at the ford which means the area can be accessed during and after rain events. |
Roding |
Work to commence in May 2021. Resource consent is being secured. |
Maitai and Brook harvesting
3.2 Harvesting in the Maitai and Brook is expected to commence during winter 2021.
3.3 Following bridge construction, considerable work is planned in the Maitai forests. Consultation with residents, the recreation sector and Council staff will be undertaken to ensure impacts are minimised. A detailed communications plan is being prepared.
Tantragee Block harvesting
3.4 The Tantragee Block will follow the harvesting of the Brook Blocks (which is expected to take place between May and July 2021), to ensure continuity of work for the harvesting crew and to reduce costs.
3.5 On 5 May 2020, the Forestry Advisory Group resolved:
“Agrees on a harvesting date, taking all factors into account, for the Nelson City Council owned Brook blocks to be July to September 2021”.
3.6 It is proposed to bring the start date forward to enable commencement in May 2021.
3.7 Recreation sector stakeholders have been contacted and most reported this change to be favourable. General comments included being mindful of school holidays and one concessionaire noted the disruption harvesting causes to the public and businesses generally.
3.8 It is noted that the earlier start date will reduce the risk that harvesting activity continues into the spring/summer months, which are busier for recreation, and commences closer to the start of Term 2 (3 May) meaning less risk of occurring during holidays.
3.9 Work is underway to prepare a communications plan, to contact residents again to discuss the harvesting plan and to secure a traffic management plan. Revised costs will be presented to the next meeting of the Subcommittee.
4. Tasman Pine Forests and Waahi Taakaro harvesting
4.1 When Tasman Pine Forests Ltd harvest the block adjacent to the Waahi Taakaro Golf Club, the work will also include harvesting the small area planted by them on Council land. This work is expected to take one month and PF Olsen will monitor the work to ensure that the trees on Council owned land are harvested to the required standards. The small area will be replanted with indigenous species.
5. Health and Safety
5.1 There are no Health and Safety issues nor Safe Work Observations (SWO’s) to report since December 2020.
5.2 Extra measures and communication were undertaken to ensure that recent business as usual thinning work in the Maitai progressed in a safe manner, as it is in proximity to a number of mountain bike trails.
6. Finance
6.1 An updated summary of Council budgets to December 2020 is appended as Attachment 1 and PF Olsen’s Quarterly Report to December 2020 is appended as Attachment 2.
7. Alternate Uses
7.1 Council agreed to retire approximately 140Ha of forestry and consider alternate uses and an Alternate Use Plan has been approved. Refer to Attachment 3 for an update. Lachie Grant (Landvision) will be in attendance to update the Group further.
8. Forestry Stewardship Council
8.1 Following the consultation process in 2020 the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) Forestry Management Plan was submitted to the certification body (an independent body that assesses forest managers against FSC standards), and has now been approved. The final Plan is available for viewing online here: www.nelson.govt.nz/Forest-Management-Plans.
8.2 In response to submissions to the FSC Plan, a page on the Council’s website is being developed to improve the communication of information relating to NCC forestry. This will include general information on the NCC forestry estate, FCS accreditation, the Forestry Subcommittee and planned harvest information. This webpage should be live within the next month or two.
9. Iwi Forestry Activity Management Plan (FAMP) consultation
9.1 An individual session with iwi on the FAMP was held on 4 November 2020. The feedback, along with commentary is presented below.
General comment
9.2 Recommendation from iwi that the goal of the AMP’s should reference iwi partnership and Te Tiriti o Waitangi as well as consideration of natural world view, sustainability and cultural acknowledgment.
Officers are working on drafting an introduction from the Council Kaumatua to compliment the Mayors introduction to deal with this matter.
Specific requests
9.3 Iwi identified the desire for Cultural Health Indicator Monitoring (CHIM) – seasonal assessment of bird life, fish, plants, water clarity and overall biodiversity at Council forestry blocks.
Officers propose further engagement with iwi on this matter to define scope and costs.
9.4 Iwi requested representation on the Subcommittee.
This is a decision for Council.
9.5 Iwi requested that iwi monitors attend harvesting operations and to be paid by Council for their time.
Officers propose further engagement with iwi on this matter to define need, scope, quantum and costs.
9.6 Iwi requested research into the viability of other commercial species (other than pine) and alternate felling techniques.
Funding provision has been set aside in Year 1 of the LTP budget to undertake further work on this matter.
9.7 Iwi requested that Council fund the cost of managing wilding pine impacts on neighbouring land as a means to accurately acknowledge the overall cost of forestry.
Council have already made the decision to remove around 29.9Ha of Douglas Fir in the Brook/Maitai and Marsden blocks to address the spread of wildings from this species, which shows Council’s leadership in this area.
In terms of wilding pines, Council is a very small forestry landowner in the Nelson area - 520Ha of a total forestry area of approximately 8,870ha (6%). The effect on wilding pines on neighbouring properties from Nelson forestry blocks is deemed minimal and will reduce further once the 21ha Douglas Fir stand is removed by harvesting in the short-medium term.
Author: Paul Harrington, Team Leader Parks and Facilities Activity Management
Attachments
Attachment 1: A2582672 - NCC Forestry Accounts Summary at 31Dec2020 ⇩
Attachment 2: A2577989 - NCC PF Olsen Forestry Quaterly Report - Q2 - 2020-21 ⇩
Attachment 3: A2578176 - Landvision alternative species update - Feb2021 ⇩
Important considerations for decision making |
1. Fit with Purpose of Local Government The regular updates support the effective and efficient management of Council’s productive forests and through best practices and sustainability contributes to Local Government well-beings of social, economic, environmental and cultural. |
2. Consistency with Community Outcomes and Council Policy The Group aligns with the following outcome: “Our Council provides leadership and is supported by an innovative and sustainable economy”. |
3. Risk The Group has been set up to specifically have an oversight on all things relating to forestry to reduce the risk to Council. |
4. Financial impact The Group has been set up to monitor forestry activity and to manage income and expenses accordingly. Any expenditure recommended in this report is in line with this oversight. |
5. Degree of significance and level of engagement The report deals with a number of matters that have required individual engagement with individuals/groups. |
6. Climate Impact Commercial pine forestry and harvesting is a sustainable practice and contributes positively to climate change mitigation. |
7. Inclusion of Māori in the decision making process Iwi have not been consulted in the preparation of this report but have been consulted on separately with respect to the FAMP. |
8. Delegations The Forestry Sub Committee’s areas of responsibility include: Areas of Responsibility: · All matters relating to the commercial forestry operational portfolio including environmental and recreational issues
Powers to Decide: · In accordance with Council’s Annual Plan and Long Term Plan: o Approval of forestry and harvesting management strategy and plans o Approval of the engagement of contractors/consultants and forestry tenders
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