Spread of rabbits hindering golf course tree growth

July 22nd

Rabbits and hares nibbling at young trees on the Motueka Golf Course are a growing headache for Keep Motueka Beautiful (KMB) and Bob Cooke, who spends hours tending to the trees voluntarily.

At this week's KMB monthly meeting, alternative solutions were suggested but none were considered viable, given that the various authorities such as DoC seemed unwilling to get involved. All suggestions relating to spraying or treating individual trees were unworkable, Bob said, because about 5000 trees are affected and this would be a massive task to get to them all. Laying poisons required complying with some daunting regulations, but shooting rabbits could be viable if it could be organised.

The committee also considered options for a litter clean-up, given that Corrections work gangs would not be able to operate without traffic management plans in place, and it was decided to leave that campaign until the planned September litter cart project.

Bob Cooke told the committee that the memorial wooden bridge to the island on the Inlet Reserve (Adopt-a-Plot) is ready for assembly, and that high school students who are making it plan to erect and bolt the main arched support beam into place this week.

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