Is Sunshine Bay Queenstown’s forgotten suburb?
That’s how some residents of the area feel, after putting up with what’s been described as an ‘eyesore’ for over a year — the dead and dying remnants of wilding pine felling on land above Arawata Terrace.
Sunshine Bay’s Dave Slawson says while he and neighbours aren’t opposed to taking the trees down, the state the banks are left in isn’t right.
He says the wilding pine crew have been working in the area the last couple of summers, firstly chopping down the trees en masse and leaving the remains where they fell.
When Slawson contacted Department of Conservation (DoC), he was told the trees were to be left there for native growth to take over.
But he reckons that could take decades, especially with out spreading seeds or planting, and removal will cost too much.
‘‘They’ve just come in heavy-handed and walked away from it.’’
Slawson believes it’s a ‘‘pertinent’’ time to discuss the issue, with council currently chopping down plenty of pines, and the slash problems in the North Island following Cyclone Gabrielle.
DoC’s acting operations director David Butt says where practical, the department does ‘‘look at options for removing some of the larger tree fell material’’.
‘‘However this is entirely dependent on the terrain — in a lot of cases it’s not possible.’’
He adds the control efforts above Arawata are for the protection and regeneration of native plants, and natives are already starting to regenerate thanks to more light and nutrients being available.
Butt says controlling the wilding conifer is a ‘‘long game’’ and, over time, ‘‘with maintenance and trimming, the remaining fell will be swallowed up by the regenerating forest’’.
Queenstown council spokesman Sam White says the subject site’s privately-owned, not on council-managed land.
