Though a shadow of what it once was, the Mackenzie Basin still has a thriving population of insects, lizards, beetles, mountain grasshopper and a unique alpine weta that literally freezes during winter. Small numbers of sheep and a few beef cattle dot the plains now, and rabbits thrive amongst the wild roses and native tussocks, bulbinella and spaniards.
The land we occupied, Simons Pass, currently undergoing tenure review, has at least 18 threatened plants and four threatened birds, including the nationally critical black stilt. From the digging equipment we watched the pihoihoi, or NZ pipit, walking jerkily around us wagging its long tail. The pipit will not stay when this patch becomes an industrial dairy farm.
Murray Valentine is not a farmer. He is a wealthy Dunedin accountant with business links including the largest battery chicken factory in the southern hemisphere, Mainland Poultry.
His plan for Simons Pass is to take up to 57,640,000 cubic metres of water annually from Lakes Pukaki and Tekapo and pipe it to 26 pivot irrigators on 4800 hectares, creating green circles 1.3km in diameter in the brown Mackenzie Basin to feed up to 15,000 dairy cows. He has consents to spread around 662 tonnes of nitrogen fertiliser per year.
Research shows that more than 76,000kg of nitrogen and almost 2000kg of phosphate annually will likely leach into the Waitaki catchment.
Up close to the dirt for a day, I noticed how soft and fine it is, like dust, and full of stones. Officially it is "well drained" or "excessively well drained". In plain language, it leaks like a sieve. A hell of a lot of water and fertiliser will be needed to make grass grow, and when those cows perform their natural bodily functions they will drain directly into the Tekapo and Pukaki rivers. Nitrogen and other pollutants will flow into Lake Benmore and the Waitaki River.
What about climate effects? His cows alone will add 1875 tonnes of methane per year to our emissions budget, not to mention the nitrous oxide from urine and fertiliser. Their milk will be dried using coal, the dirtiest of fossil fuels.
How far will dairy expansion go for an extra dollar? Valentine has not broken the law, but he is ruining a cherished landscape. This is The Lord of the Rings country. It is Southern Man Speights country.
My friends and I broke the law because we feel strongly enough about this madness to put ourselves in harm's way to stop it.
Rosemary Penwarden was born and bred on a small dairy farm near Whanganui.
