Remarkables National Park Queenstown NZ

Posted 1st of July 2017 to the Mountain Scene Newspaper Queenstown NZ

It seems time for the some rethinking of the way our public lands are managed in high pressure places such as the Queenstown region.
The call to make a new National Park out of the Remarkables Range and also use the Public Works act to  as a tool to preserve Iconic Landscapes
for the good of all is on the surface an easy solution, but be mindful that National Parks in NZ are a political football as far as funding goes and the
general public are not really encouraged to use them as originally intended when they first where designed.

It is standard practice for the Government not to plough profits back into parks that earn them.  Certainly at the moment the Department of Conservation
ground staff are too few with too many jobs to cover and their Minister has directed them mainly onto biodiversity and not tourism.

Perhaps a more progressive Government might rule in the future and give DOC managers a bonus incentive  but don’t hold your breath for that day.
Meanwhile as long as biodiversity is the number one objective there is no concrete way of measuring any value or even progress for that matter.

In the USA some special places get National Monument status and are preserved for historical & aesthetic reasons and Tourism.

Probably something to think of now that our traditional landowners are clearly under huge pressure from huge overseas & Auckland funded developments.  

Te Anau's Silly Sewage Sceme

Posted 20th September 2014 to the Fiordland Advocate Te Anau NZ

 If you think about it Te Anau Sewage Answer is staring at it in the face.. Native Beech Forest is Idea suited to absorb Nutriments for waste water and there are No People there to be offended by it.

Clearly if we can Dump 1080 all over it then Waste Water should be far less environmentally intrusive to wildlife and after all we got’ta put the National Park to use for something if you cant fish shoot or safely walk through it.
The Kepler Mountains would be Perfect and if you play it right  any surplus waste water could drift safely out to sea via the Manapouri Power Station and make some extra electricity Into the bargain !

Come on Southland District Council, where is your plucky spirit, a true Heath Robinson sewage system Is like the Movie “Field of Dreams” Let’s Build it and People will Come to use it.  let Nature deal with the pesky microbes.

Fiordland Advocate - 1080 Te Anau Meeting ?

Posted 28th August 2014 to the Fiordland Advocate Te Anau.

There are a lot off issues about the Massive 1080 Drop in Fiordland we have just been hit with..
I really think it would have been nice if the Experts could have held a Public Meeting in Te Anau though
To answer Questions and fill us in on the Yellowhead Economy that DOC is offering us, Clearly
There are some downstream benefits? After all the Taxpayer has forked out a lot of money to help Yellowhead Birds
Of late And they must expect a dividend. BTW has anyone got a ball park figure of Yellowheads in the Iris Burn?
Or do we have to wait a week or so before we do a final count..
Speaking of the Local Economy it hasn’t escaped the notice of some people that the 1080 Drop price tag would have
Easily Paid for a World-Class Cycle Network in the Fiordland National Park...
Oh,Sorry, I forgot Bike Wheels have a negative impact on the Environment.

Jim Mora - Poisoning Lake Manapouri

Posted August 18th 2014 to Jim Mora and the Panel Radio New Zealand.

Here is a game Changer

Remember Norman Kirk ,
National wanted to Raise Lake Manapouri and Lost the Election to Labour

Now National Is Planning to Flood Lake Manapouri our most pristine and Beautiful Lake with 1080 !

As we speak they are ready to drop A Million Dollar Payload of Poison on the Kepler Mountains
If order to come to the rescue of a hand full of bats and Birds who have been Holding out grimly against
Rodents there since the days of the first Europeans..

Today however There is Helicopter activity not seen since the Fall of Saigon to Deliver the Payload
And Our Airport is locked down with Police and DOC Heavies Guarding the Gate for Operation Overkill

This Massive Drop will wash into the lake and out to Doubtful Sound. Fish from Manapouri & Te Anau will be
Suspect as the poisoned rodents are eaten by fish. And its not clear what effect there will be on the Resident Dolphins and Penguins in the Sound
Further down the Food Chain..

I really think Dr Smith has Shot his Party in the Foot with this one!

ODT - Nick Smith's Big 1080 Mistake

Posted 25th August 2014 to the Otago Daily Times Dunedin NZ

I can’t believe that Nick Smith has a Death Wish for himself
Right before an Election he sends out a Squadron of Helicopters to Poison Lake Manapouri
Not only New Zealand’s Most Pristine and Scenic Lake but the LEAST polluted place in the Planet.
It is in fact on our %100 pure poster we send overseas as an example of Purity.

What Can he be thinking?  Lake Manapouri Killed a National Government Before.
Also I Fail to see How the small Population of Yellowheads in the Kepler Mountains Are Considered a Tourist Attraction ?
We Know people come here for Trout Fishing and now that will be very Suspect if contaminated bugs and rodents end up in the Fish Population
As they do.

This has got to be some kind of bizarre maneuver on behalf of the Minister of Conservation to Make Ruth Dyson’s Job a lot tougher this Spring?


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