At a special council meeting in mid July Environment Canterbury adopted the recommendations in the report from the hearing commissioners who considered the application to amend the National Water Conservation Order (WCO) covering Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere. The recommendations are now forwarded to the Minister for the Environment who will make a final decision.
The current WCO recognises the outstanding wildlife habitat of the Lake. Wildlife includes all birds, mammals and invertbrates, but not the fish found in the Lake and tributaries. The hearing committee recommended:
- Including the words Te Waihora in front of Lake Ellesmere in the title of the Water Conservation Order and throughout the document, in line with current accepted practice.
- Expanding the list of the lake’s “outstanding features” to include habitat for indigenous wetland vegetation and fish and significance in relation to tikanga Maori in respect of Ngai Tahu history, mahinga kai and customary fisheries. The 1990 Water Conservation Order only referred to wildlife habitat.
- Allowing additional lake openings at any level, primarily to aid eel migration, from April 1 to June 15.
More details and a link to the full report are on the ECan website.
