News

Persistence of triclopyr, dicamba, and picloram in the environment following aerial spraying for control of dense pine invasion

Date: 8th December 2023

Congratulations to Carol Rolando from SCION who won the front-page competition for the above article (also see link to article below) in the Weed Society of America journal. https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/EC888894C5B7A927AD5E5A3E0C06CD8D/S1939729123000202a.pdf/persistence-of-triclopyr-dicamba-and-picloram-in-the-environment-following-aerial-spraying-for-control-of-dense-pine-invasion.pdf Management implications from the study…

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Concern as carbon offset partnership plants pines in biodiversity hotspot.

Date: 8th December 2023

Please read the article in the link below. https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/133063759/concern-as-carbon-offset-partnership-plants-pines-in-biodiversity-hotspots It covers a conundrum that is occurring all over Aotearoa. This one in South Marlborough occurred prior to the changes to the NES-PF (National Environmental…

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Vive La Resistance – Managing wilding conifer reinvasion – the science that helps our work.

Date: 3rd November 2023

Scion is one of the lead providers for the science that helps wilding control work. The goal for Vive la résistance (VLR) is to achieve one important impact for New Zealand: To optimise wilding…

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$7 million dollar boost to wilding pine funding for 23/24 financial year

Date: 3rd November 2023

The extra funding was announced by MPI at the 2023 Wilding Pine conference heled in October in Queenstown. It has been provided by the Department of Conservation. The extra funding will be prioritised to…

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Wilding conifers: why long-term environmental issues need long-term funding.

Date: 27th October 2023

Thank you to everyone (around 160 of you, an all-time record!) who attended our recent conference in Queenstown either in person or online. The conference included a keynote from Simon Upton the Parliamentary Commissioner…

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Changes to the National Environmental Standards for Plantation Forestry (now Commercial Forestry) – effective from 2nd November 2023

Date: 6th October 2023

The National Environmental Standards for Commercial Forestry (NES-CF), formerly the National Environmental Standard for Plantation Forestry (NES-PF), are for managing the environmental effects of plantation and exotic continuous-cover forestry (sometimes called carbon forestry). A…

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Political party stances on wilding pines

Date: 6th October 2023

A big thanks to Lauren Prebble from Marketellingenz in Cromwell who manages our social media. She canvassed all the political parties to get their position on wilding pines. Hirakimata – Mount Hobson summit looking…

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Fears over falling funding for wilding pine control.

Date: 2nd October 2023

Smoke drifting across Lake Pukaki from the large blaze at Pukaki Downs (in mid-September). Photo: RNZ / Nathan McKinnon Listen to a good interview from 27th September with Kathryn Ryan from RNZ – Clint Miles from…

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Pulling government funding from wilding pine programmes poor planning

Date: 22nd September 2023

Otago Regional Council chairwoman Gretchen Robertson has written an opinion piece in the Otago Daily Times and describes wilding pines around Central Otago as ticking biological timebomb. Her piece is reproduced below or read it direct in…

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Awatere Farmer Steve Satterthwaite gives his perspective on the dire straits of wilding funding.

Date: 18th September 2023

A really good interview with Steve Satterthwaite from Muller station in Marlborough. https://www.rexonline.co.nz/home/podcasts.html. Scroll down and look for this podcast: Steve talks about his perspective as a large high-country landowner but also as a…

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