26 January 2015

Local landowners help target old man’s beard

Horizons Regional Council is thanking Rangitikei landowners for assisting with an annual old man’s beard control programme by reporting sightings on their land or within the district.

Horizons environmental management officer pest plants Malinda Matthewson says community reporting is vital to the management of this smothering vine as locals keep Horizons informed of sites that may be missed.

“We use a mix of control methods for old man’s beard and, with many thousands of hectares of native vegetation and farmland to search, helicopters are the most effective way to find and control the weed. However, we really only see the larger infestations this way,” Mrs Matthewson says.

“Every year I visit people whose land we are going to search and every year locals tell us of smaller sites we may otherwise have missed. Local people know their area and are just as keen as we are to keep this weed under control.

“I can’t state enough how important reports from locals are in contributing to the overall success of our control programmes.

“When we catch sites early, they’re easier to control. We’re able to get to them before they really get going.”

One such local is Pukeokahu Farming Partnership Limited manager John Waldron.

“The Pukeokahu Farming Partnership owners are keen to protect the natural environment. If we can work in with the regional council to do so then that’s fantastic,” he says.

Old man’s beard is listed in Horizons current Regional Pest Management Strategy as a containment plant. This means areas where the weed has become a problem are recorded and the Council works with landowners to prevent its spread outside of these areas.

While Horizons cannot control all old man’s beard sites, Mrs Matthewson says the work that they are doing in the Rangitikei along with work being carried out by landowners and the wider community is having a real impact on the weed.

“At this stage the infestation level in the area where I work doesn’t seem to be expanding and the new sites we are picking up are of a smaller size,” Mrs Matthewson says.

Horizons’ Regional Pest Management Plan will replace the current Regional Pest Management Strategy. The draft Plan will be made available for public feedback in April, providing an opportunity for the community to have their say on levels of funding, resources and regulation applied to plant and animal pests in the Region.

To report a sighting of old man’s beard or other weed in your area please contact Horizons Regional Council’s environmental management pest plants team via toll free number 0508 800 800.

ENDS

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