Remove crack willows from Waikawa Stream

Hello

Thank you for the opportunity to submit on MDC's next annual plan.

I formally raised this idea in Council's LTP consultation at the beginning of 2025, and in previous informal submissions to council officers over the last few years.

Council's website rightly identifies crack willows as unwanted pests that harm our local environment.

Crack willows are particularly bad along Endeavour Stream (adjacent to the Snout) from Ranui St north. This stream is an itegral part of the overall Waikawa Stream system.

This is a high profile site - with many locals and visitors biking, running and walking the pathway there daily. The willows loom over the new community garden initiative near Huia St.

I believe that Council owns the land adjacent to the Snout from Ranui St north to the Waikawa marina.

The willows:

.  clog the stream

.  harm biodiversity

.  look awful - especially in when they shed their leaves for half a year

.  are counter to what local community volunteers are trying to achieve in the area.

A few months ago Te Atiawa organised a tremendous effort to remove many large and small crack willows and replant with natives adjacent to Ranui St (adjacent to where I'm talking about). Great to see and I salute Te Atiawa.

Picton Dawn Chorus and the Ngahere weeding/planting group are also active in restoring and protecting local flora and fauna in the area. I'm a volunteer trapper for PDC myself and I've helped with some volunteer plantings adjacent to Victoria Domain this year.

I submit that Council has an ethical obligation to support these community efforts on land that it owns and that is high profile. It makes sense from a business perspective too - Waikawa/Waitohi will simply be a better place to live and visit. 

I thererfore propose that Council:

.  removes the crack willows that run along Endeavour stream (adjacent to the Snout) from Ranui St north to Waikawa marina. Although poisoning the trees and waiting for them to die and collapse over several years is an option, Te Ati Awa has ably shown that chopping the trees down is a good option that achieves fast results safely

.  consults with the local community (especially Te Atiawa) on a replanting plan

.  replants the area with suitable natives - perhaps with local community volunteer support.

As I noted in my LTP submission, Council has led and/or contributed to other successful projects to remove crack willows in Marlborough.

Thank you for considering my submission.

I'm happy to discuss the issues if you wish.

Brendan

As decscribed above - it's simply the right thing to do - and it's in a high profile site that's easily accessible for contractors.

This is a project that will have significant multi-generational benefits.