Wood gathering from the Wairau River Reserve
Wood gathering from the Wairau River Reserve is no longer permitted for a number of good reasons, Council's Assets and Services Manager Richard Coningham says.
There is an unspoken rule in Marlborough that after a flood, it is acceptable to reclaim branches and trees from our river bank areas. And it is true that in the past there was a permit system that facilitated this.
However unfortunately in recent years a small number of people have spoiled it for everyone else.
These people - there are around a dozen of them - consistently, throughout the year, take wood from our reserves, which usually includes the cutting down of live trees. They don't differentiate between post-storm debris and going in regularly to cut down healthy trees.
They also sell this firewood to line their own pockets, at everyone else's expense.
Trees are widely planted near our stop banks by Council to assist in stabilising the land. Their root structure binds the soil and greatly assists with land stability and also slowing the flow of water during a flood.
These individuals also drive on and around our stop banks in their vehicles to obtain wood, which then causes erosion on those stop banks and weakens our flood defence system.
There are also other health and safety issues. Just last week a man on a night raid managed to pin himself under a large tree trunk for some hours. He suffered moderate injuries and serious damage to his chainsaw. Another guy got stuck in his four wheel drive.
Our Reserves Rangers are regularly threatened by these individuals, so the Police are often required to assist us to trespass and prosecute them.
From a legal point of view it makes life difficult for both the Council and the Police to trespass people if we allow some members of the public to collect wood legitimately while we have to trespass and prosecute others.
The most cost effective way to manage this - given both the Council's and the Police's limited resources - is to have a complete ban on collecting all firewood from the river reserve.
Disclaimer
The information in this media statement was correct at time of publication. Changes in circumstances after the time of publication may impact on the accuracy of the information.