Waipoua River 20130219.pdf - Northland Regional Council

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The only exotic fish recorded in the catchment are two mosquito fish recorded at onelocation in 1992, in a small unnamed tributary near the Waipoua Campground and VisitorCentre. There are no other records for mosquito fish elsewhere in the catchment or since1992, however, there has been very little fish monitoring carried out in recent years.2.2.2.3 Freshwater invertebratesThe Waipoua River has a rich diversity and density of freshwater invertebrates (Seitzer 1996in Miller and Holland 2008). A total of 61 different taxa have been recorded at the SH bridgesite, in the annual monitoring since 2004, however, 18 of these taxa have only been found inone of the nine years of monitoring (Appendix 1). The greatest number recorded in one yearwas 36 taxa in 2010 (Table 8). Total freshwater invertebrate diversity in the catchment islikely to be much higher than this, as this is only one site, which is a reasonably large fastflowingpart of the river system, the sampling is of only one habitat type (riffle-cobble) andidentification of taxa is only carried out to genus, family or in some cases order level.A species of particular significance is the caddisfly, Oxyethira waipoua. As Waipoua River isthe only site in New Zealand in which it is known, it is classified as ‘At risk’ (range restricted)(Miller and Holland 2008). This species was first found and classified in January 1996 asadults on the river edge at the SH bridge (Wise 1998). Since annual monitoring began in2004, the Oxyethira genus has only been recorded at the site in 2010 and from the availabledata the species is unknown. However, it is worth noting that the commonly found speciesO. albiceps is usually found in quite different habitat to the Waipoua River eg, in openstreams and ponds with degraded water quality.Another species of potential conservation interest is the stonefly Spaniocercoides watti,which is reported to be restricted to the banks of the Waipoua River (Collier 1992). However, noSpaniocercoides sp. have been found in the annual freshwater invertebrate monitoring since itbegan in 2004.2.2.2.4 Ecology in the surrounding catchmentThe Waipoua Forest contains the largest remaining tract of old-growth kauri forest in NewZealand, which is now reduced to less than 2% of its original extent (DOC 2011). This Forestis part of the Waipoua – Mataraua – Waima Forest tract, the largest indigenous forest northof Auckland. These forests are characterised by their diversity of plant species andcommunities. The Kauri National Park Proposal (DOC 2011) clearly identifies the ecologicalvalues of the Waipoua Forest. Key points are included in the excerpts below:“Vegetation communities of the Waipoua Forest tract are very diverse, reflectingenvironmental factors such as elevation, slope and distance from the coast, and historicalfactors such as fire, logging and gum digging. Kauri is a significant component of only 4 ofthe 17 major vegetation communities mapped by Burns and Leathwick (1992)…. Theyrecorded over 380 indigenous vascular plants in this area, of which 69 (18% of the total)are restricted to the north of the North Island. This includes 37 of the 128 species of treesand shrubs. There is also a rich flora of fungi and non-vascular plants such as mosses andliverworts, algae and lichens. Even this extensive list is known to be incomplete, as anumber of other species have been recorded from coastal areas, and some very seasonalplants, such as ground orchids, are difficult to find.14
At low altitude, forest associations of taraire, kohekohe, kauri, nīkau, kahikatea, māmāngi,māpou and kānuka are dominant. At mid-altitudes, forest associations are dominatedvariously by taraire, kohekohe, tōwai, rewarewa, kauri, Hall’s tōtara and kiekie. Relativelyhigh altitude forest associations are composed of mixtures of tōwai, tawa, rimu, makamaka,supplejack and kiekie. With increasing elevation, kauri and coastal species disappear andthe forest becomes dominated by rimu and other podocarps.Within the kauri forests, gullies are dominated by taraire, kohekohe, nīkau, māhoe andCyathea ferns. Midslopes support forests with taraire, tōwai and tawa with abundant kiekieand silver fern. On the ridges, dominant species are kauri, towai, Hall’s tōtara, tāwheowheoand tāwari, with the climber Metrosideros albijlura being common. Groundcover is oftendominated by large clumps of kauri grass (Astelia trinervia) and the large sedge Gahniaxanthocarpa.Fauna and flora values of the Waipoua Forest tract are very high, with a range of endemicand nationally threatened species present including North Island brown kiwi, North Islandkokako, kukupa/kererū (New Zealand wood pigeon) and short- and long-tailed bats.Together with the contiguous areas of the Waima and Mataraua Forests, Waipoua supportsthe largest remaining North Island brown kiwi population and the last functional populationof kōkako in Northland. Birds of a limited distribution nationally, but not uncommon withinthe forested areas, are the North Island kiwi and pied tit (miromiro), and the kākāriki is alsopresent. The North Island fernbird (mātātā) is found in the shrublands nearer the coast.Other native birds are relatively common and widespread throughout the area, including tūī,silvereye, fantail, grey warbler, kingfisher, morepork and shining cuckoo.The invertebrate fauna is not well known. [Native land] Snails are a notable feature of theNorthland fauna and are well-represented at Waipoua, particularly the large and attractivekauri snail (Paryphanta). A survey of the conservation needs of 101 native invertebratesfound Northland to have the second highest occurrence of threatened species nationally—55 or 18% of the total surveyed (McGuinness 2001)”. (DOC 2011, p. 20)“Waipoua Forest supports the largest population in the country of the nationally threatenedNI brown kiwi (Serious Decline), possibly between 1–2000 birds (R. J. Pierce pers. comm.),while the Waipoua/Mataraua plateau contains the most viable population of NI kokako(Nationally Endangered) in Northland.” (Miller and Holland 2008, p. 7)2.2.3 Recreation and aestheticsWaipoua Forest and River have high recreational and aesthetic values. Recreationalactivities include walking, camping, swimming, road cycling and hunting. Many visitors comepurely to enjoy the beauty of this near pristine area of Northland and view the iconic giantkauri. Waipoua Forest is a popular Northland and New Zealand tourist destination. It isidentified as an iconic area and attractor in the Northland Tourism Strategy with up to100,000 [sic] visitors to the Tāne Mahuta site every year (DOC 2011).There are currently nine short walks easily accessible from the SH (DOC 2011); one of theseis the ‘Ricker Walk’, which is a 5 minute walk along the River from the SH bridge. TheWaipoua Forest Fun Run and Half-Marathon from Tāne Mahuta to the Waipoua CampingGround has been held every year since 2008. It is a popular event (DOC 2011) with, forexample, 250 competitors in 2009 (The Northern Advocate 2009).15
Page 6 and 7: 1 Introduction1.1 BackgroundThe Wai
Page 10 and 11: The Crown purchased the land that i
Page 13: 2.2.2.1 PeriphytonPeriphyton is fou
Page 17 and 18: Figure 3 Common uses of the Waipoua
Page 19 and 20: 2.3 Managing the River and its catc
Page 21 and 22: Stream habitat assessments at RWQMN
Page 23 and 24: Table 4 Classification system based
Page 25 and 26: Table 6: Trend analysis results for
Page 27 and 28: 3.2.5 Invertebrate community health
Page 29 and 30: 2009 the community at the Waipoua R
Page 31 and 32: Northland Regional Council currentl
Page 33 and 34: There is no information on groundwa
Page 35 and 36: evidence that the causeway on Waipo
Page 37 and 38: on the river ecosystem, particularl
Page 39 and 40: However, overall the benefits of ob
Page 41 and 42: SQMCITPSemi Quantitative Macroinver
Page 43 and 44: Ogle, L. and Cook, T. (2005). North
Page 45 and 46: Table 13 cont. Macroinvertebrates r

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