Farmers get behind ecology plan

Press, 23 May 1989, Page 15

Farmers get behind ecology plan

By

JANE DUNBAR

Canterbury farmers are co-operating with the Conservation Department over proposals to set aside areas of their land for conservation, says a senior conservation officer.

Agreements should be signed before the end of the year, said the Canterbury co-ordinator of the department’s protected natural areas (P.N.A.) programme, Mr Keith Lewis. About 100 areas on Canterbury freehold and leasehold land have been identified as important in the P.N.A. programme, set up to protect a representative system of ecological diversity. Surveys of the Coler-idge-Cass-Craigi eburn area were complete and a report should be released by August, said Mr Lewis. Another survey, of the Mount Hutt and Mathias ecological district, was in progress. Recommendations for the Mackenzie and Heron ecological regions have been published, and the

farmers and conservation officers are discussing the proposals. Compromises on both sides were necessary, said Mr Lewis. When agreements about the areas to bet set aside were made, the Conservation Department would take on some of the responsibility for managing the protected areas, such as weed and pest control, fencing and monitoring. The vice-president of the South Island high country brancch of Federated Farmers, Mr Pat Garden, said farmers ywere still dubious about the programme. Conservation Department staff had initially been too zealous and “alarm bells” had rung. Survey teams had been “put through the hoops” but progress was beginning to be made, he said. It was important covenants were signed soon or farmers would see the P.N.A. programme as a “non-starter.” Mr Garden said he was sure some covenants would be signed before the end of the year.