Pine time to leave me

by Dan Hutchinson

An ambitious plan to eradicate wild pine trees from the inner Queen Charlotte Sound has received another major boost.New Zealand King Salmon has donated $10,000 to the project on top of $102,000 received from the Lottery Grants Board and the Biodiversity Condition Fund.The eradication of wild pines is the key project of the recently formed Marlborough Sounds Restoration Trust.Trust chairman Andrew Macalister said the Sounds community were very keen to see wild pines removed from the area to improve the landscape and allow for regeneration of native plants.He said it was a very large project that would need Government assistance if the whole of the Marlborough Sounds was to be covered by the project.However, the Trust had set its sights on 2600ha of wilding pine infestation in the inner Queen Charlotte Sound with an aniticpated budget of $130,000 this year.Contractors would make their way by foot through the infested area, drill holes in the trees and inject poison.By leaving the trees standing, re-growth was limited by the shadow of the dying tree.New Zealand King Salmon General Manager Aquaculture, Stewart Hawthorn says the initiative is a good fit with the company's strategic values. "We are an important part of the Marlborough Sounds community and within our vision we seek respect for our sustainable commercial success.“Actively participating with the community by assisting its growth, widening its resources and improving its features is a part of advancing that vision.""The wilding pines campaign reflects the passion many in the community feel about ensuring the naturalness of the Marlborough Sounds. As a user of that naturalness, it's good that we can give something back," Mr Hawthorn said Mr Macalister said it was important to make a success of the first eradication programme, scheduled to start at Labour weekend, as that would encourage further investment in the project."It seems the community agrees wilding pines are a scourge of the Sounds and that a response to this problem is long overdue."