Horizons land management advisors here to help with Cyclone Gabrielle recovery

Horizons Regional Council has land management advice and support to provide landowners as they continue to recover from the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle.

Cyclone Gabrielle caused widespread damage to rural land and infrastructure across the Horizons Region, with the brunt of the event felt in the Tararua District and places along the Pohangina, Ōroua, Rangitīkei and Manawatū rivers.
 
Horizons land manager Grant Cooper says damage ranged from landslips to washed out tracks, silt deposits on farmland and waterway erosion, with some farmers facing significant disruption as a result.
 
“Landowners will be turning their minds to long-term repairs and planning post-cyclone. This includes managing landslips, recovery of land and pasture, and replanting grass and tress – all things Horizons can offer support for and advice about. We are here for landowners when they want to talk.
 
“We know many landowners will be dealing with landslips on their properties and looking to stabilise areas with planting during winter. However, it is often best to let land settle, as planting could be lost in subsequent land movements.
 
“It is important to distinguish between ongoing and one-off landslips, with the one-off and more stable areas able to be planted this winter.
 
“Oversowing slip scars is rarely productive – the loss of organic matter and water-holding capacity means the areas will struggle to produce pasture in future years – but slip tails and debris left in paddocks can be reshaped once dry and oversown. You will, however, need to be prepared for a good crop of thistles as the first vegetation establishes.”
 
Horizons’ Sustainable Land Use Initiative (SLUI) aims to prevent widespread erosion on hill country land by helping build resilience to storms, with farmers, Horizons and the Ministry for Primary Industries co-funding work such as sediment traps, reversion of pasture to native cover and retiring of existing bush remnants, Mr Cooper says.
 
“More than 29 million trees have been planted as a result of SLUI, helping to build resilience by significantly reducing the sediment load in rivers and the chance of landslips on hill country. Aerial imagery from this storm, as well as experience from previous storms locally and across the country, shows forested land experienced the least erosion.
 
“We will continue offering land management advice to all landowners, including supporting them to establish trees where they are appropriate.
 
“Unfortunately, we do not have funding available to repair grant-assisted works damaged as a result of the cyclone. However, we may have funding to help with replanting afforestation sites or moving fences to safer locations. Our land management advisors (LMAs) will be able to give advice.”
 
Mr Cooper says Horizons appreciates landowners will need to postpone some work programmes involving Horizons grants until next year or may want additional poles.
 
“The programme is currently moving into the season for pole planting (poplar and willow) and we are aiming to get more than 30,000 poles planted for erosion protection. It is likely some landowners will be seeking to do additional pole planting this year.
 
“While we do have limited capacity of poles available, there may be some that are unable to be planted where previously planned. We are doing stocktakes of nurseries to see what additional capacity may be available, including lighter grade poles than traditionally planted.
 
“Contact your LMA as soon as possible to let them know what jobs have to be postponed and we will defer them to next year at the same grant rate.”
 
For more information, including contact details for LMAs and SLUI details, head to horizons.govt.nz/managing-natural-resources/land.
 
For more regulatory advice post-cyclone, head to horizons.govt.nz/news/welfare-assistance.

Photo: Landslips in eastern Tararua following Cyclone Gabrielle.