Invitation to comment on the Waimea Inlet Management Strategy 2050 and Action Plan 2023 to 2026

The Waimea Inlet Coordination Group is seeking your feedback on a revised draft of the Waimea Inlet Management Strategy and Action Plan.

The Waimea Inlet Management Strategy was created in 2010 to bring together groups committed to the sustainable future of the Waimea Inlet. These groups include Tasman District and Nelson City Councils, Tasman Environmental Trust, Department of Conservation, Fish and Game, Te Tauihu iwi, and other local community organisations, all working under the umbrella of the Waimea Inlet Forum.

In 2015, these groups formed an inter-agency coordination group to commit resources to the Strategy, creating the Waimea Inlet Action Plan in 2019.

Together we have been working away at implementing this plan, thus making significant progress in protecting and restoring the health of the Inlet. This link will take you to a report on the progress that has already been made over the life of the current Management Strategy.

We now propose to combine the Strategy and the Action Plan into one document. The core vision for the Inlet remains the same but a lot of detail will be added.

You can read the proposed revised Management Strategy and Action Plan on the Tasman District Council’s website.

We want to know what you think of the revised document before it is finalised.

Please submit your comments on-line through the Council’s consultation portal at https://www.tasman.govt.nz/my-council/public-consultation/submissions/ before the closing date of 10 March 2023.

Your comments will be treated as a submission and used to help refine the proposed Management Strategy and Action Plan. All comments are public statements and may be quoted in the review process.

If you want more information, you can email Peter Lawless, who is leading the review process, at peter@phoenixfacilitation.co.nz.

Advertisement

Many thanks to all who helped at the Community Planting Days on the Waimea Inlet in 2022

The 2022 winter’s planting for the Battle for the Banded Rail saw over 10,000 new plants in the ground around the Inlet’s shoreline. Many thanks to all of you who helped with this outstanding effort.

We now need to look after the new plants while they get established. Work over the next few months will include weeding, cutting back grass which competes with the plants, and removing plant guards once the plants are big enough to look after themselves.

If you would like to join any of the weekly weeding bees, which are held every Friday, please email bandedrail@gmail.com or give Kathryn a call on 544 4537 and she will tell you where and when to meet.

For more information email us at bandedrail@gmail.com or phone Kathryn 544 4537

Contact: Kathryn Brownlie
Email: bandedrail@gmail.com
Phone: 03 544 4537
www.tet.org.nz

---

What about rising sea levels?

Tasman District Council have at last started on planning the district’s response to future sea level rise.

Here’s a link to their web page.

Their attention will inevitably be focused on the effects of sea level rise on the people of the District.  However, their increasing commitment to sustainability and environmental protection means that they are also likely to listen to and act on our concerns about the future health of the Inlet.

The Waimea Inlet Strategy says we will develop “a strategic response to maintain natural functions of the inlet and representative habitats, under changing conditions of sea level”.

So we have responded to the Council, explaining how the productive salt marsh and coastal margin vegetation can be given room to migrate inland as the sea level slowly rises.

You can read our response here.

And here is a summary of all of the community feedback.

.

Richmond Catchment Management Plan

Illustration in the Richmond Catchment Management Plan

After many years of preparation, Tasman District Council (TDC) has adopted a holistic approach to managing stormwater in Richmond.

It aims to improve flood resilience as well as protect our waterways and the environment.  Since all of the town’s waterways flow into the Inlet, the quality of the flows directly affect it.

The Council asked to Waimea Inlet Forum to provide feedback to the draft plans.  We responded with a submission.  You can read it here

The final documents adopted by the Council take the form of an Urban Stormwater Strategy and a Richmond Catchment Management Plan, along with supporting documentation.  A district-wide urban stormwater discharge consent application will be publicly notified later.

Full details of the final Strategy and Plan are on the TDC website:

Urban Stormwater Strategy
https://www.tasman.govt.nz/my-council/key-documents/more/environment-reserves-and-open-space/urban-stormwater-strategy/

Richmond Catchment Management Plan
https://www.tasman.govt.nz/my-council/key-documents/more/environment-reserves-and-open-space/urban-stormwater-strategy/richmond-catchment-management-plan/

The proposed water contamination risk objectives are:

A background report identifying existing stormwater quality and contamination risks was written in 2010.  It gives a lot of detail about the quality of the various streams and drains entering the Inlet and is worth reading.

See the video about the Battle for the Banded Rail

The Battle for the Banded Rail is focused on restoring birdlife to Waimea Estuary in Nelson. It’s built on thousands of hours of volunteer work. In 2017 over 250 volunteers contributed more than 1,500 hours of time – checking trap lines, planting, weeding and more…

Tracey Murray and Kathryn Brownlie were recently interviewed about the achievements by Predator Free NZ.

Check out the video and you’ll see how the enthusiasm of volunteers is making a big difference around the shores of the Inlet.