Discretionary pastoral activity decision - Oversowing and top-dressing - A5091775

For this decision summary:

• LINZ received the application before 17 November 2022
• accordingly, the decision was made under the Crown Pastoral Land Act 1998 excluding the amendments taking effect on 17 November 2022.

Oversowing and top-dressing

10 years with maintenance rights

For the part of the consent that was granted:

The Commissioner of Crown Lands has determined that granting consent to oversow and top-dress the area is desirable for sustainability and will make it easier to use the land for farming purposes. Inherent values that the Commissioner wishes to protect include wetlands, landscape values and indigenous vegetation and conditions 1-4 are required to achieve this. Condition 5 is necessary as there is significant evidence of areas that have been oversown and topdressed and then not maintained reverting rapidly to hawkweeds.

For the part of the consent that was declined:

The Commissioner of Crown Lands has determined if consent were granted this would adversely affect inherent values that the Commissioner wishes to protect. In the upper Winterton catchment there are a number of at risk and threatened ecosystems and species. The risk of OSTD in these areas having a significant detrimental effect on both the threatened species and associated ecosystems is too great to ignore.

The Lookout Block is home to several unusual ecosystems and a significant number of threatened and at-risk plant species. Some of these are critically endangered and at serious risk of going extinct if all known populations are not protected. The potential risk of OSTD having a significant detrimental effect on both the threatened species and associated ecosystem is too great to ignore.

Consent is granted in part for oversowing and top-dressing, subject to the following conditions:

1. No seed to be sown or fertiliser applied within 20m of a stream or wetland.
2. Fertiliser and seed be applied strategically using modern GPS managed application.
3. Fertiliser and seed are not applied to screes, rock fields and bluff areas.
4. A hill country seed mix certified weed free is used.
5. Following initial oversowing the land is maintained with adequate fertiliser on a regular basis.
6. You confirm with the Marlborough District Council that no resource consents are required.

The Crown Pastoral Land Act 1998 provides that permission to undertake the activity may still be needed under other enactments.

Consent is declined for oversowing and top-dressing on the areas shown in red on the map.