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Forest & Bird » Freshwater

1. Gerry
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   I get the Otago Daily Times and every day at the moment the hearings for the Fish and Game Application to extend the Kawerau River Wild and Scenic River Conservation Order to save the Nevis River are being reported in the paper.

   The hearings certainly show the river to be one of the last wild and free rivers in central Otago. It is the top river for fishing. It is the top white water river for canoeing. It has very high natural, botanical, landscape, historic and freshwater native fish value.

   Today's paper reports DOC as being totally "neutral" on whether the river should be saved or not. DOC's reported position is scandalous. They have been involved in a whole series of secret deals with Pioneer Generation the power company that wants to dam the river.

   I find it extraordinary that a department set up to champion the natural, conservation and recreation values of wild New Zealand can still argue that it is "neutral" about whether this river should be protected. What on earth has been going on in DOC Otago?

   Posted 2 years ago #

2. Janet
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   What saddens me is that DOC Otago have conservation resources reports done for the three pastoral leases in the Lower Nevis currently undergoing tenure review which include scientific data gathered by their experts on the landscape, vegetation, invertebrates etc and evaluations of the importance and worth of the historic goldfields sites which they are not entering into the hearing evidence. They are highly relevant to the process and it is an insult to the DOC staff involved in doing these reports that their data and conclusions are ignored in the submissions presented by DOC at the Nevis hearing. Those ignored reports make informed comment on values which would be lost should a dam go in and flood up to 675m and should be considered by the tribunal. There is also wide acknowledgement in the conservation resources reports of these leases and others in the Upper Valley of the very significant landscape values of the Nevis Valley.

   Posted 2 years ago #

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