Conservation

The Special Tribunal appointed to consider Fish & Game New Zealand's application to amend the Water Conservation (Kawarau) Order 1997 in respect of the Nevis River has recommended that the amendment be granted but the amendments confined to recognition of the outstanding value of the Gollum galaxiid.

Whitewater NZ and Fish & Game have submitted a revised application for a Water Conservation Order on the Hurunui River.

The Green Party has launched a campaign to save the Mokihinui River and our other wild rivers. Send the Prime Minister an e-card and download the petition: http://www.greens.org.nz/mokihinui

The West Coast Whitewater Kayaking Survey 2010 is now live and Whitewater New Zealand encourages anyone who has paddled on the Coast to complete it. Andy England is doing the work as part of his Royal Society of New Zealand Teacher Fellowship. In brief:

• Purely about whitewater kayaking/canoeing on the West Coast of NZ.
• The biggest West Coast kayaking survey to date, designed to update the 1991-93 survey.
• Will provide valuable data for decision making processes.
• It’s online and will take you 20 mins if you haven’t done many rivers, up to an hour if you’ve done most West Coast rivers - you can leave it and come back to it
• Live until 12 August.
• Needs as many people as possible, so please complete the survey and encourage everyone else you know to participate.

[4 June] Commissioners have released their decision granting Central Plains Water consents for CPW to construct river intake structures and take water from the Rakaia and the Waimakariri. Following prolonged and exhaustive hearings, the consents have numerous conditions seeking to ensure safety of instream users, and to mitigate the effects of reduced flows on recreation. Update 23 June: Whitewater Canoe Club's Graeme Wilson summarises the impacts on kayakers arising from the conditions applied to the Central Plains Water resource consent.

In the wake of the sacking of Environment Canterbury (ECAN) councillors and the dissolution of the Water Conservation Order for the Hurunui River Whitewater NZ has joined the North Canterbury Fish and Game Council, Forest and Bird and the Water Rights Trust to formally request that a moratorium be placed on water permits allowing the taking, use, damming and diverting of the Hurunui River. In particular, this would effectively place the Hurunui Water Project application to dam the Hurunui River and take water on hold.

Whitewater NZ have submitted an appeal to the Environment Court over the consent granted to Meridian Energy for a dam on the Mōkihinui River. The appeal seeks that the consents are not granted due the complete loss of kayaking amenity with no mitigation. The scheme does not promote sustainable management (because no one is making new rivers). The appeal points out that there is no bond for ultimate removal of the dam, and that the dam is unnecessary due to the Dobson and Stockton schemes that have already received consents.