Regeneration huge focus at The Remarkables

Queenstown’s Alpine paradise is showing its commitment to the environment with an extensive programme to regenerate native plant life.

As part of a long-term plan to protect and restore its mountain environment, The Remarkables ski area has teamed up with the Department of Conservation (DOC) to ensure its unique landscape is preserved with the manual transplant of thousands of tussock and other native plants.

Native plants have been carefully removed, stored and then re-located to ensure the changing landscape, due in part to trail work for the 2011 season, will ultimately blend in seamlessly with areas that have remained untouched.

The Remarkables Ski Area Manager Ross Lawrence said he had been working with the full involvement of DOC on minimising the effects of trail earthworks.

“With the terrain work that’s taken place over a number of months it was hugely important to us to focus on rejuvenating plant life on the land,” he said.

“We carried out a vegetation transplant trial two years ago in the knowledge that earthworks were in the pipeline, and a lot was learnt.

“As a result of that trial, we’re now working in the full knowledge of just how sensitive plant life is up here, and that’s meant we’ve done a lot of work manually.”

The Remarkables team has transplanted thousands of tussocks and clumps of ‘cushion grasses’ by hand as they’re the most sensitive and hardest to regenerate.

“Barbara and Neil Simpson and Arne Cleland from Pukerau Nursery in Gore have also very kindly helped by sowing seed direct to land,” said Mr Lawrence.

He said he took the environment on the mountain very seriously.

”At the end of the day this landscape and its well-being is really important to me and everyone who works up at The Remarkables.”

The Remarkables is also conducting a survey of the wetlands within the ski area. The survey is a DOC consent condition which will help with future terrain development and ensure these extremely sensitive areas, with their unique vegetation, are maintained for all to enjoy on the mountain year-round.

Queenstown Department of Conservation Programme Manager John Roberts said DOC recognised that The Remarkables had the environment ‘front of mind’.

"We’ve been working closely with the ski area over summer to ensure that the conditions of various approvals have been met.

“We both understand that these types of works involve a long term commitment to the restoration of the original environment and will take many years of effort. Results this year have been very good and the genuine commitment shown by Remarkables staff to this work has been terrific.”