Field trip to explore Umutekai wetland

The links between water, wetlands and biodiversity will be highlighted at a public field day on Sunday, 31 January.

The event, marking World Wetlands day, will be held at Umutekai wetland, Umutekai Road (off Dorset Road), near New Plymouth.

Umutekai wetland covers almost 50 hectares and is the largest remaining remnant of swamp forest that was once common on poorly drained but fertile land throughout the Taranaki ring plain.

World Wetlands Day, observed internationally on 2 February, is designed to draw attention to the environmental and practical benefits of wetland protection.

The Taranaki Regional Council promotes wetland protection through education, advice and information and financial incentives. In particular, the Council focuses on protecting the 77 'regionally significant' wetlands identified in the Regional Fresh Water Plan for Taranaki which cover a land area of 2,819 hectares.

Through its Environmental Enhancement Grant scheme the Council assists with fencing, supplementary planting and covenanting the wetlands for their long-term protection.

Where possible, the Council advocates for 'formal protection' of wetlands through either a covenant (with either QEII National Trust or the Department of Conservation) or a management agreement (Memorandum of Encumbrance) with Council. Forty-nine of the 77 regionally significant wetlands now have some formal protection. All wetlands are also protected by rules in the Regional Fresh Water Plan.

Wetlands generally have important indigenous biodiversity values. The Council works with the landowners of wetlands, such as Umutekai, that have been identified as Key Native Ecosystems, to develop biodiversity plans to coordinate actions to protect and enhance their biodiversity values. Typically, the work involves possum and predator control, invasive weed control and wetland fencing and planting.

The survival of such a large area of natural bush on private land is due to the foresight of the Rumball family who 'retired' half of the area they leased from the Crown in the late 1950s for dairying. The Rumballs began replanting the wetland and corridors of native species throughout the farm, after freeholding the property in the mid-1970s.

In recent years the Taranaki Regional Council has been working with the three landowners, including the Cowleys and Zimmermans, whose properties also include parts of Umutekai, to protect and enhance this special wetland.

The Council coordinates work, such as predator control, under a customised biodiversity plan, to further improve the biodiversity of Umutekai.

Sunday's field day begins at 10 am on Alison Rumball's property at the end of Umutekai Road. Visitors will be able to explore the unique wetland and hear presentations from representatives of QEII National Trust, the Taranaki Tree Trust, the Taranaki Regional Council, Department of Conservation and Fish and Game Taranaki.