Ben Lomond Trees

A band of conifer trees on either side of the Skyline Gondola above downtown Queenstown will be removed later this year, to avoid creating a health and safety threat to the aerial cableway.

About 1.88ha of trees will be felled and cleared to ensure the safety of people accessing the gondola and tourism businesses that are located on Ben Lomond Recreation Reserve, which is administered by the Queenstown Lakes District Council on behalf of the Crown.

Harvesting the identified trees is a permitted activity under the Operative District Plan as the area is designated as a forest. Where possible, the felled timber will be sold as logs.

QLDC Chief Executive Mike Theelen said that both Skyline and QLDC agreed it was “vitally important that both parties take all reasonably practicable and responsible steps to reduce health and safety risks.” This is an ongoing responsibility.

QLDC, Southern Planning and Skyline Enterprises are applying for an Outline Plan Approval under the Resource Management Act and the Operative District Plan.

The cost of the tree clearance and harvesting is estimated to be about $600,000, with Skyline Queenstown paying two-thirds of the cost and QLDC paying no more than $200,000.

While Skyline Enterprises has an easement over the reserve, which requires them to maintain a 20 metre corridor either side of the cableway and keep the trees clear from that area, some of the largest trees which need to be removed are outside that corridor and are the Council’s responsibility. Mr Theelen said the Council’s contribution reflected that.

Skyline Queenstown General Manager Lyndon Thomas said: “The Council and Skyline are taking a proactive approach to managing the risk to public safety. Collectively we have been monitoring the trees closely for the past four years and recently some large trees have fallen within the forest which has heightened our concern. These wilding trees grow about one metre each year and as they get bigger, they become more susceptible to the wind and the risk of them falling increases. Some of these trees are approximately 50m tall so it’s essential that we manage this proactively.”

It could take up to four months to complete the work over spring and early summer 2016, with limited hours of operation each morning to minimise the disruption to the gondola’s operations and the other businesses that are based on the Ben Lomond Recreational Reserve. The felling work will run from 6-10am, five days a week, weather permitting, and much of the extraction will also be completed during those hours when possible.

Those trees closest to the gondola will be cleared regardless of size, while a smaller number that are growing near the cableway will be felled selectively, based on their size and the topography where they are located. This will result in a soft edge to the cleared area, which will be regrassed after the trees and slash have been removed.

Two existing forestry tracks will be extended to allow the bulk of the timber to be removed and sold. Trees on the steepest terrain will be topped and felled in sections that will be removed by helicopter.

The Council has contracted Southern Planning to progress the application and will begin consulting this week with groups and businesses that use the Ben Lomond Recreation Reserve as well as Wakatipu High School and Queenstown Primary School, which have been identified as affected parties to the proposed work.

ENDs

© Scoop Media