Action needed to restore dunes, control pampas

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Opinion

I write in support of the excellent letter to the Herald by Pat Seymour on August 9 (More degradation of beachfront and dunes).

A photo in The Herald on August 8 shows the serious beachfront erosion at Turihaua which extends north to the Marine Reserve and south to Tatapouri and Makorori .

The foreshore dunes are gone at Turihaua and the seafront is being mowed on a regular basis to accommodate holiday campers.

At Makorori a plan to save the beach and dunes from damage by vehicles and the sea has been ongoing for at least five years.

There are approximately 12 points of entry/exit from SH35 on to Makorori dunes and the beach. Many of these are steep, potholed and dangerous, and Waka Kotahi has SH35 signposted as a “High Crash Area”. Vehicles are using these entry points to drive over the dunes, bogging and wrecking them in the process. The drivers of these vehicles are in breach of local body bylaws and the Conservation Act. Enforcement is notable by its absence.

Pat Seymour also refers to Argentinian pampas. This invasive weed is fast becoming the national flower of Gisborne/East Coast, infesting highways, beaches, scenic reserves and private land including Titirangi maunga where local people are doing a fine job planting native trees.

Control of pampas is difficult and ongoing, but unless serious efforts are taken by authorities and land owners it will be too late and this highly invasive weed will overtake us. It possibly already has.

Sandy Bull