Pampas deadline just weeks away

9 May 2012

The clock is ticking for pampas grass in Taranaki – land holders will soon be required to completely eradicate the pest plant.

A five-year transition period, during which pampas could be retained only if it was being used as a shelterbelt and was prevented from flowering or seeding, ends on 1 July this year. The deadline was set in the Taranaki Regional Council’s Pest Plant Management Strategy in 2007.

“There’s been a generous lead-in time, and now the requirement is clear: All pampas must be eradicated,” says the Council’s Compliance Manager, Bruce Pope.

“That’s the message land holders are getting in our current round of inspections, and non-compliance after 1 July may result in enforcement action.”

Under the Strategy, all common and purple pampas must be destroyed.

Pampas threatens biodiversity by suppressing native plants along forest and streambank margins, in scrub and secondary forests, and wetlands and coastal areas. It also hinders horticultural production, particularly by strangling forestry seedlings in planted forests, and it can also be a nuisance on roadside verges.

Spraying with herbicides such as glyphosate or Gallant, or grazing or physical removal are the recommended treatments.

Mr Pope says alternatives for shelter include trees, flaxes and native toetoe. These provide shelter and enhance landscape values and biodiversity values.

“Pampas should not be confused with native toetoe, which is usually smaller with a waxy surface on the leaf base and droopy flower heads,” says Mr Pope.

For more information, call the Taranaki Regional Council on 0800 736 222 and ask to speak to a Pest Plant Investigating Officer, or go to www.trc.govt.nz/pest-plants/.

ENDS

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