2026 Executive Field Trip

There is no clearer way to define a problem than to see it stand before you. 

That was exactly the intention of the Central Otago Wilding Conifer Control Group (CWG) field trip on 29 January. 

On a classically crisp Central Otago morning, Project Manager, Pete Oswald and I arrived in Alexandra, joined by CWG board members John Breen, Phil Murray, Inge Diks, Sarah Anderson, and Chair Craig Peattie. Before long, the carpark filled with an essential mix of perspectives - representatives from the Department of Conservation (DOC), Otago Regional Council (ORC), Central Otago District Council (CODC), the Wilding Pine Network (WPN), Federated Farmers, PF Olsen Forestry, and Ernslaw One Forestry.

We piled into vehicles and set off on a 340km, 11-hour loop through Central Otago. 

The purpose of the trip was simple in theory, but complex in reality: to bring together forestry, farming, governance, and environmental voices to quantify and qualify a rapidly escalating ecological and economic crisis, and to begin shaping collaborative solutions to a problem that is as controversial as it is urgent. 

Connected by walkie-talkies, our convoy headed out. First stop: Dunstan Burn.

Here, we looked over a farm where paddocks harvested from pine forest were already being reclaimed by wilding conifers. The landowner, working with CWG, had been grappling with the sheer scale of reinvasion - balancing control methods, land economics, and the visual and ecological integrity of his property. Discussion quickly turned to the use of drone spraying: its effectiveness, limitations, and suitability in this terrain. That conversation broadened into debate around restoring soil fertility through nitrogen-fixing species, the challenges of re-establishing grazing land, and the long-term viability of different control models. Fire was also proposed as an appropriate control method on emerging wildings. 

The problem was vast; and so were the perspectives. 

Next, we arrived at property near Naseby, recently the focus of local media following the farmer’s remarkable efforts to halt wilding spread from the Naseby Forest through burning in collaboration with the forest managers and CWG. CWG has also applied significant public funds to this area to ensure this frontline between the forest seed source and the Oteake conservation area is controlled to a point where the landowner can reasonable assume control on their own. 

Representatives from the forest joined us, sharing insights into the learnings emerging from forestry management and wilding control to ensure the farmers' and CWG’s efforts endure. 

Aaron Watson, from Central Wilding Tree and Landcare Services, spoke candidly about the realities of running a conifer control crew - the physical demands, the complexity of decision-making, and the constant trade-offs between terrain, infestation density, ecological impact, and financial cost. In this case, an area of approximately 340 hectares of medium infestation was best suited to manual clearance with chainsaws. The scale of the effort was sobering, but it powerfully reflected the farmer’s commitment to protecting both the Oteake Conservation Area and productive farmland for generations to come.

From there, we headed toward Dansey’s Pass, where we were met by Mitch from Provision Drones for a live demonstration of spray-drone control targeting Douglas fir. For many in the group, it was a first and an eye-opening look at how rapidly control technology is evolving. 

Further along the pass, a local shared his experience of trying to reclaim grassland under relentless pressure from Douglas fir spread from a long-standing seed source on a neighboring property. Upwind landowners had refused to remove seed sources, leaving the farmer to shoulder the cost of land degradation, lost productivity, and ongoing control. CWG has provided significant financial support here for which the farmer was very grateful. Council and DOC representatives discussed potential legislative tools and leverage points to address unmanaged seed sources, while Federated Farmers representative, Stephen Jack, voiced strong support and frustration for a farmer doing the right thing in the face of stacked odds. This farmer’s sustained hard work and commitment to the protection of Dansey’s Pass was commendable.

Upon exiting the Danseys Pass the Kakanui Range came into view, Pete and I had prepared printed images of the Kakanui's dot with pine trees before comprehensive control was done in 2016-2017 by CWG. Now not a single pine tree can be seen on those hills. While we compared the images to the view out of the windows of the 4WDs Pete crackled over the radio urging us to imagine what could have been if that work had not been done 10 years ago.

Moving up the Taieri catchment, the tone shifted again this time to one of ample optimism. We were met by the unmistakable passion of Drew Dundass, who spoke about his recently discovered appreciation for native shelterbelts. The Taieri floodplains are notorious wind funnels, and after losing repeated lengths of fencing to fallen conifers, the Dundass family was eager for alternatives. 

When CWG outlined the Shelterbelt Transition Initiative (STI - we’re aware of it’s a “catchy” acronym) a model where farmers remove invasive shelterbelt species with their own resources, and a native replacement is funded by CWG, planted and maintained by the Tiaki Maniatoto Nursery in Patearoa, and fencing costs subsidised -  the alignment was immediate. Drew joked about not knowing the names of many of the native species, but loving them nonetheless. His advocacy was grounded in a simple principle: doing the right thing for his land, his neighbours, and future generations. He didn’t fail to amplify our message of superior wind suppression offered by dense native plantings compared to contorta pine. 

The final stop of the day was the most confronting. 

We were met by a wall of Douglas Fir forest - planted two decades ago and believed to claiming carbon credits. The forest, managed by PF Olsen, was represented on the trip by forestry manager George Platts. Waiting for us was a neighbouring farmer, who wasted no time expressing his anger and exhaustion as Douglas fir continued to spill into his tussock high-country land. 

His message was direct: the burden of managing this spread should not fall on neighbouring farmers who never consented to conifers in the first place. Carbon credits, he argued, must not come at the cost of ecological collapse and economic loss for others. It was a heated exchange - uncomfortable, raw, and necessary. 

This is what the wilding conifer problem looks like when it is no longer theoretical. 

CWG would like to sincerely thank everyone who gave their time, expertise, and openness to be part of this field trip. Bringing such a diverse group together - farmers, foresters, councils, DOC, and industry made for robust, honest, and at times challenging conversations, but ultimately a highly productive day on the ground. Seeing the issue firsthand reinforced both the scale of the problem and the value of collaboration in tackling it. A solution to wilding conifers will not come from any single perspective, but days like this move us meaningfully closer to shared understanding and workable solutions. 

See a short video summary of the day by Pete below.