Significant Natural Areas

A SNA is an area that has significant indigenous vegetation or habitat of indigenous fauna. A SNA may include remnant native bush or native forests, wetlands, frost flats, lakes and rivers, or geothermal vegetation. SNAs may also have other values such as a landscape area of particular scenic interest.

Councils are legally required under the Resource Management Act 1991 to identify and provide for the protection of areas of SNAs.

The desktop assessment produced a set of draft SNAs by qualified ecologists from Wildlands Consultants. The team from Wildlands looked at aerial photographs, used their knowledge of the Taupo Districts ecosystems and applied the criteria from the regional policy statement to determine whether an area was a SNA.

The next stage is to confirm this information through a site visit with landowners who have requested one. The purpose of the site visit will be to confirm whether the areas identified as SNAs in the desktop study are mapped correctly and meet the criteria in the regional policy statement. The current District Plan has around 300 Significant Natural Areas identified.

The Waikato Regional Policy Statement criteria has been used to determine the Significant Natural Areas in the Taupo District, even for the parts of our district which are in the Bay of Plenty, Hawkes Bay and Manawatu-Whanganui regions.

The Waikato Regional Policy Statement can be found on the Waikato Regional Council website.

We will only undertake a site visit where a landowner agrees to one. Council will not enter private land without permission.

The site visits will enable the ecologists from Wildlands Consultants to come onsite and check if the areas meet the criteria. They will also enable an opportunity to talk further about how council could provide for the protection of SNAs in the District Plan.

Depending on the location and nature of the SNA/s, site visits will likely require landowner or land manager representation to provide council staff, contractors and ecologists with access and site knowledge. We understand that landowners know your land best, and are grateful for any assistance that you can give us.

If you would prefer that council staff and ecologists do not check the Significant Natural Areas on your property, council staff will defer to the areas identified in the desktop study for use in the District Plan.

If you would like to request a site visit, please complete this online form.

Site visits will be undertaken on behalf of council by Rowan Sapsford from Roam Consulting. Ecologists from Wildlands Consultants will also be present, who will be able to provide you specific advice on the proposed significant natural area on your property.

If you would like to request a site visit, please complete this online form.

The site visits will start in December 2020 and will continue over the summer period. There is no set date for completing the site visits as this will depend on how many landowners request a site visit.

If you would like to request a site visit, please complete this online form.

Under our current District Plan you can remove small areas of indigenous vegetation from within SNA’s. To remove larger areas, or areas of high ecological value, you may need to apply for a resource consent. The current District Plan provides some additional development rights to landowners who protect SNAs.

These District Plan provisions are currently under review, so we’d also like to get to know what your views are on these provisions, as well as check we have identified the areas correctly.

We have a legal requirement to review our District Plan at least every 10 years. This means that we are reviewing the areas identified as SNAs in the current plan, as well as the rules and the associated objectives and policies in the District Plan.

Our ecologists will confirm or make any corrections to their desktop study which will then be communicated to the landowner, along with other points which may have been raised at the site visit or subsequent communication. If a landowner does not give permission to check the Significant Natural Area on their property, the draft area identified in the desk top study will be used.

The revised Significant Natural Areas will then be mapped into the proposed District Plan, which is planned to be notified in late 2021 or early 2022. While submissions are open, anyone, including landowners, are able to make a submission on any part of the District Plan or the documentation that informs the District Plan.

We encourage all affected landowners and interested people to be involved in this review process as early as possible. You can contact Hilary Samuel, senior policy advisor on 07 376 0899 or districtplan@taupo.govt.nz to arrange a site visit and/or answer any questions.