Flock Hill managers protecting the environment

The managers of high country Flock Hill Station and angling organisations have joined forces to protect a salmon spawning stream flowing from Lake Pearson into the Waimakariri River.

Richard and Anna Hill have also created a buffer around hourglass-shaped Lake Pearson, alongside alpine State Highway 73 connecting Canterbury and the West Coast. They will not cultivate, fertilise or graze cattle inside this 50-metre strip.

Land sloping into Lake Pearson is one of 25 sensitive lake zones identified by Environment Canterbury as highly valued and highly accessible.

The Hills are working with North Canterbury Fish & Game and the New Zealand Salmon Anglers Association to look after spring-fed Winding Creek. A 2.2-kilometre fence has been built to keep cattle out of the creek, nearby springs and a 20-hectare wetland protected by neighbouring Craigieburn Station.

Gorse and broom have been sprayed with herbicide so native tussocks, rushes, sedge, toetoe, matagouri and other shrubs can gradually take their place.

Winding Creek is one of five main salmon spawning streams feeding into the Waimakariri River. Salmon, rainbow trout and brown trout are present together with native longfin eel and upland bully. Canterbury drinking water will also benefit from the project, being sourced from Waimakariri aquifers fed by runoff from the river’s upper catchments.

“In the early days we had our ups and downs but now we’re a team,” said Mr Hill of the restoration effort that started in 2011.

Emily Moore, North Canterbury Fish & Game officer, said anglers had been unhappy with an increase in sediment in Canterbury spring-fed creeks.

“It gets into gravel where fish lay their eggs which is hopeless for spawning and also native invertebrate numbers,” she said. Winding Creek was still in good condition and this project would help keep it that way.

Only the Lake Pearson outlet and a shingle fan running towards the lake are fully fenced. Sheep are allowed access along the rest of the southern margin to drink, grazing to the water’s edge. The Department of Conservation is monitoring how well this approach works.

There was compromise on both sides. “Ideally sheep as well as cattle would have been fenced out of Winding Creek because they graze overhanging vegetation which creates shade liked by fish. On the plus side, they help control weeds,” Mrs Moore said.

Ring-fencing Lake Pearson would see rank grass and matagouri choke the margins, ruining the iconic view, according to Richard Hill. “If we got a dollar for every car that stopped on the bend by the lake to take a photo we would not be farming.”

He admits, however, that the lake is not the clear blue many remember. A large spring flood in 2013 was responsible, spilling silt and sediment into the lake, turning the water cloudy overnight.

Close to $170,000 has been spent on the Winding Creek and Lake Pearson projects including $106,000 in Immediate Steps grants from the Canterbury Water Management Strategy Selwyn-Waihora Zone Committee.

As managers of a sensitive lake zone, the Hills are required by the Canterbury Land & Water Regional Plan to prepare a farm environment plan for the Lake Pearson catchment.

Going beyond this, they opted to write a farm environment plan for the whole 14,500-hectare property. This will guide decisions such how many sheep to run and which land could be cropped, grazed or retired without risking water quality.

No increase in nitrogen leaching is allowed in Lake Pearson. “As a high country lake, it is especially vulnerable to enrichment due to its small volume of water relative to the size of the catchment, and how long it stays there,” said Judith Earl-Goulet, Environment Canterbury Zone Delivery Manager.

“Careful management is needed because this this can result in unsightly algae and aquatic plant blooms which affect fish and invertebrate habitats and can make lakes unsuitable for swimming.” It takes a long time for a degraded lake to recover so action is needed to protect water quality.

The Land Air Water Aotearoa website assesses Lake Pearson water quality as ‘good’ based on phosphorus, nitrogen and chlorophyll content and clarity, and ‘high’ based on the number of ‘good’ native plants versus ‘bad’ introduced plants.

ENDS

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