A new residents’ group has formed in Nelson and they want to know what the council’s plan is for the deforested hills in the Barnicoat Ranges.
“People just want to know what is happening up there,” said Friends of Marsden Valley member Kathryn Richards.
Though the group has several priorities, the reforestation of bare hills around the popular recreational track of Glider Road was big on their agenda.
Pine harvesting in the Marsden Valley started in 2021 following a windthrow event.
Grass seeding had since occurred as cutover areas opened, and selective weed spraying had been ongoing.
But the bare slopes were worrying residents, who were concerned about the lack of living tree roots to stabilise the hillside.
The memory of a destructive August 2022 storm was still fresh in their minds and they worried that, if another significant storm occurred, new homes in the area could be damaged by flooded streams.
“Now, with all the development and stuff, there is a community that stands to lose,” warned member Craig Gass.
They also had environmental concerns with slips around Glider Road, as well as increased erosion and sedimentation harming the Poorman Valley and Orphanage Streams.
These were matters the group wanted addressed with urgency, Richards said, and members were potentially even keen to lend the council a hand with replanting efforts.
Nelson City Council agreed in late 2023 to shift away from clear-fell commercial forestry to create a well-managed continuous canopy across its 10,000 hectares of forested land.
As a result, much of the council’s 600 hectares of commercial forestry land was expected to be replanted in a mix of native and exotic trees.
The Friends of Marsden Valley was now left wondering when it might expect to see such replanting efforts in Marsden Valley.
“We want traction on this,” Richards said.
The council’s group manager infrastructure, Alec Louverdis, said transition plans were still being finalised but some planting was scheduled for this winter.
“We appreciate the community’s patience as council develops these transition plans.”
A transition working group of elected members, formed in September 2024, provided oversight of the replanting plans, and 70 hectares were currently planned for planting.
However, the council was yet to hire a forestry systems manager who would oversee the replanting and forest management efforts.
“To mitigate potential negative environmental impacts of the deforested slopes, we have implemented grass seeding to address short-term risks and used poplar pole planting to stabilise the soil to mitigate slip risks,” Louverdis added.
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