“We’re systematically moving through the whole of the commercial forestry estate at the moment and prioritising our work,” said the council’s new forest systems manager Dr James Griffiths.

Griffiths, a scientist with 20 years of experience in pest management for the Department of Conservation, has been in his role for two months after the council initially struggled to fill the position.

Initially born from the council’s decision to transition away from clear-fell commercial forestry to create a well-managed continuous canopy amenity forest, the role takes the lead in managing the council’s 10,000-hectare forest estate.

“I’d like people to walk out of the airport and look up at forested hills when they arrive in Nelson, as opposed to something else. That’s kind of what we’re heading for," Griffiths said.

Though it will be a decades-long transition, Griffiths wasn’t dissuaded from the undertaking.

“I’m pretty excited about this project and delivering a lot of things that will be around for my grandkids to look at.”

Over the winter, 38,600 trees were planted in the Maitai Valley and another 35,350 were planted in the Marsden Valley.

About 80 per cent were natives, including tōtara, kānuka, and mānuka, with fast-rooting exotics added to speed up slope stabilisation where the land had already been cleared.

A “pretty big programme of work” was planned for the Maitai Valley over the next few financial years, with a specific focus on controlling wilding pines and encouraging natural regeneration.

In areas of pine which couldn’t be sensibly harvested, the council would “very gradually” poison small clusters and replant those gaps in natives to ensure hillsides remained stable as the transition occurs.

“You’ll maybe get halfway through them in sort of 10-15, years, but you want to keep that live biomass on the hill to hold it together, so it’s a delicate balance,” Griffiths said.

Eventually, Griffiths wanted to set up a reference group of a “broad spectrum” of residents, including school kids who will witness the transition over their entire lives, to clarify the community’s aspirations for the council’s forests.

But in the meantime, the highly-visible pine plantation, known as the College Block, behind Nelson College was a high priority as the over-mature trees were susceptible to windthrow.

He has also met with Marsden Valley residents about what will happen behind their neighbourhood, where clear-fell council forestry has been scrutinised in the past.

“I’d like to talk to the community about all of that first, before we affirm about our approach,” Griffiths said.

While the intent at this stage was to move most pine plantations into a largely native amenity forest, the council was also investigating the feasibility of small-scale forestry in the Roding catchment, further away from public infrastructure, with shorter rotations or high-value timber.

The transition would bring several flow-on benefits for the city, such as increasing resilience during high-intensity rain events, creating recreational and tourism opportunities, reduce sediment run-off into Tasman Bay, and eventually result in greater biodiversity, Griffiths added.

“It’s going to be bloody awesome.”

Multi-year closure for Glider Road

As the council undertakes its forestry transition, Glider Road in the Marsden Valley will remain closed for the foreseeable future after a slip came down in May, which residents attributed to the land being clear-felled and unstable.

A recent geotechnical assessment showed that the road has significant structural issues and was at high risk of ongoing slips and rockfall, which posed a safety risk.

Restoring the road to a safe standard would require an estimated $1.7 million, and around $150,000 annually to remove debris, repair damage, and use heavy machinery to maintain rockfall.

To manage both safety risks and costs, the council is keeping the road closed while recent plantings take root and stabilise the slopes, which could take up to 5 years.

The council was working with the Tasman Hang Gliding and Paragliding Club to finalise alternative access to the Barnicoat Range launch site for the national paragliding championship event in January, and was continuing to investigate long-term access options.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.