South Island tussock grasslands a forgotten habitat

Forest and Bird, Volume 14, Issue 7, 1 August 1983, Unnumbered Page

South Island tussock grasslands a forgotten habitat

Bv

Senior Conservation Officer

Gerry McSweeney,

CONSERVATION WEEK this year has focused on forgotten habitats. Included among these are the tussock grasslands, shrub lands, river beds, and wetlands of the rain-shadow region of the eastern South Island.

THESE LARGELY natural communities occupy some 5 million ha or nearly a quarter of the area of the South Island. They contain a unique and distinctive assemblage of plants, animals, and natural

landscapes which rank alongside better known natural communities such as rain forests, swamp lands, and estuaries, all of which have been the focus of conservation attention over recent years.

In marked contrast, nature conservation opportunities in the tussock grasslands have been largely ignored. Professor Alan Mark _ recently pointed out (Forest and Bird, November 1980) that Otago, Canterbury, and Marlborough, which were dominated by tussock grassland at the time of European settlement, now contain only a minute fraction of these grasslands protected in reserves. The situation is particularly bad in the low-altitude tussock grasslands and_ high-country wetlands, which are rapidly disappearing through = grassland improvement programmes and cultivation.

At higher altitudes many snow tussock grasslands have been protected by land retirement schemes implemented primarily to prevent accelerated erosion and soil degradation. Major challenge A major challenge to nature conservation in the 1980s is to secure protection for distinctive and representative examples of low-altitude tussock grassland and_ high-country wetland communities. Dr Hugh Barr described many of the natural features

of these grasslands and in this journal in 1982 discussed the need for nature reserves (Forest and Bird, May 1982). He also described proposals to freehold large areas of tussock grasslands held under pastoral lease tenure set out in the report of a Governmentsponsored committee of inquiry made public in May 1982 (Clayton Committee report). The Society and its South Island branches in particular have taken a special interest in this report. We made submissions on Department of Lands and Survey trial ~ assessments made in the Awatere Valley, Marlborough, in the Lake Tekapo region, and in the Rock and Pillar Range, Otago. These submissions identified areas of nature conservation and recreation value and recommended their exclusion from any freeholding proposals. The Society was also represented at a Christchurch

seminar in February of this year organised by Federated Mountain Clubs which brought together a range of views, including those of runholders, recreationalists, naturalists, and administrators. It became clear at this seminar that if we want protection for natural areas in the tussock grasslands, we will need to put forward wellresearched reserve proposals and demonstrate widespread public support for these. The pressure for development of tussock grasslands and wetlands and for. water abstraction from rivers in the high country is very intense and is clearly accelerating. Many runholders are caught in a squeeze between retaining traditional pastoralism and its associated life style and the need to increase production at the expense of natural values.

Tussock destruction widespread Examples of tussock grassland destruction and wetland modification are widespread throughout the South Island high country: Marlborough contains a range of endemic and distinctive shrubs and herbs threatened by agricultural practices. Tussock grasslands all around the Maori Lakes Nature Reserve in Mid Canterbury have recently been cultivated. Nearby, the Ben McLeod Swamp in the upper Rangitata is being drained and developed. Large areas of short tussock grasslands are disappearing under the plough in the Mackenzie Country. Further south, in inland Otago near Middlemarch, cultivation and the change of farming practice from lowdensity set-stocking to more intensive stocking regimes are not only transforming the tussocks into introduced pastures, but also appear to be threatening the Otago giant skinks, Leiolopisma grande and L. otagense, which grow up to 315 mm in length. These lizards are listed in the 1981 Red Data Book of New Zealand, yet their habitat remains unprotected. Pastoral development is also transforming part of the Great Moss Swamp on Otago’s Lammermoor Range, and much of the remainder of this swamp is threatened by hydro-electric power. Downstream from the swamp a major wetlands complex in the upper Taieri River is being substantially modified by channelling to accelerate drainage. Close by, major pine planting programmes will engulf substantial areas of tussock grassland and native shrub lands. Cattle are destroying snow tussock grasslands on the summits of many of Otago’s block

mountains. In Southland and South Otago large areas of red tussock are being destroyed by cultivation. These are but a few of many instances where our tussock grassland heritage is disappearing. Protection through reserves Selection of nature reserves which will protect representative examples of tussock grassland, high-country wetlands, and native shrub lands together with the distinct wildlife and natural landforms of these regions must be of

highest priority for the Department of Lands and Survey, which administers much of this land and has responsibility for the national park and reserve system. It will also involve other appropriate Government departments and private landowners. We need to give them every encouragement. Rare and special plant and animal species and associations need to be identified and protected, as do_ reserves representative of the natural communities found in the approximately 80 ecological districts identified in the tussock

grasslands and mountain lands. Section 167 of the 1948 Land Act gives the Minister of Lands the right to set aside Crown land as a reserve even if it is subject to a pastoral lease. The New Zealand Government’s High Mountain Policy stresses the importance of identifying and _ protecting areas considered of nature conservation importance. The Land Settlement Board in its 1980 High Country Policy recognises the importance of: ‘*, . the protection of certain areas or features with a

view to safeguarding natural history, retention of representative examples of indigenous biota, and preservation of major ecosystems as far as possible in their natural state.’’ It is an appropriate time to seek implementation of these policies. On 13 April this year the Land Settlement Board considered the Clayton Committee recommendations, the subsequent trial assessments

and public reaction to these, and put forward a series of resolutions to the Minister of Lands (see page 53). The Society has been asked to consider these and forward specific comments on them to the Minister. Points 6 and 8 are particularly important. Council proposal A meeting of South Island Forest and Bird councillors on

12 June to discuss these resolutions proposed that: @ The Society urge the Department of Lands and Survey to establish special teams with administrative, recreational-landscape evaluation, and ecological skills who, in consultation with interested parties, can identify and recommend areas worthy of appropriate protection and retention in Crown tenure. @ That until such teams are established there should be no further reclassification of pastoral lease land (which allows freeholding), no change of conditions of pastoral leases which allow further modification of natural values should be permitted, and leases coming up for renewal should be renewed only on a shortterm basis until the natural values of this Crown land can be assessed. @e That South Island branches of the Society should give priority to the identification of the nature conservation values of tussock grassland natural communities within their branch regions. A Society tussock grassland policy is in preparation. It will be presented for consideration at the November council meeting. This will be held in Christchurch and will focus on the future of tussock grasslands and mountain lands. Nature conservation and agricultural development both need to be considered in the evolution of balanced highcountry land management. # Supplements to issue Accompanying this issue are a leaflet from the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust and a supplement, Bush Telegraph.