Marlborough’s Significant Natural Areas in good shape

Thirteen new Significant Natural Area (SNA) sites were added to the programme during the past year bringing the Marlborough total to 782.

The SNA project began in 2000 and involves Council collecting information about natural areas on private land and working in partnership with landowners to help protect them.

Sites in Marlborough include notable trees, tracts of indigenous forest and areas home to endangered or protected flora or fauna.

Biodiversity coordinator Mike Aviss outlined to Council’s Environment and Planning Committee the importance of the programme in controlling weeds and pests.

He noted 30,000 seedlings had been planted on the East Coast in the past three years to restore indigenous biodiversity along the coast.

“We’ve got to a situation on the coast where ngaio are poking their heads above the marram grass which will eventually be shaded out by forest,” he said. “The spinifex plantings we did are now starting to help build a sand dune. It’s very encouraging.”

Mike’s visits to SNAs this year have resulted in some surprising sights including green geckos in the Marlborough Sounds.

Council’s landowner assistance programme helped landowners to protect and restore SNA sites and there are currently 32 projects active with $232,550 of Council funding spent on managing them during 2023/24.

The programme visited 38 sites, 24 managed and 14 unmanaged.

“As expected, managed sites were in better condition - the most obvious threat to sites in the north are possums while in the south, old man’s beard is a real issue,” Mike said.