Photo: NZ HeraldWestland Mayor Bruce Smith has blasted conservationists lamenting the loss of wetlands on the West Coast. Forest and Bird says Coasters have damaged or destroyed more wetlands (10,700ha) than landowners in any region except Southland in the past 20 years. Mr Smith said the conservation group continued to allege that hard-working Coasters were the enemy of the environment. "The 153ha mentioned is 0.000066% of the total Coast land area. The West Coast Regional Council has said landowners would not automatically be refused consent to develop a SNA but their plans would be have to be assessed against set criteria, along with any mitigation measures.

Source: Otago Daily Times February 10, 2020 02:15 UTC