War on wilding conifers could be 'horrendous', says councillorSCOTT HAMMOND/STUFF Councillor Geoff Evans said that removing the wilding pines from the Marlborough high country could create a vegetative vacuum which would lead to widespread damage. READ MORE:* The $16m war on wilding conifers* Sycamores, cherries, rowans and palms, the next wave of weed trees? In the Marlborough Regional Pest Management Plan proposal, conifers were classed as a "threat" to the region's landscape. Wilding conifers in the southern Marlborough were poisoned and were not regenerated, he said. The conifers were introduced to the region in the 1940s to combat soil erosion but the trees quickly went "out of control" he said.

Source: Stuff March 24, 2018 21:20 UTC