Poplar trees chopped by Hawke’s Bay river: Resident fears beauty of swim spots being destroyed by post-Cyclone Gabrielle felling

How necessary is mass tree felling in Hawke’s Bay right now, and why is so much of the region’s natural beauty being altered after the devastation of Cyclone Gabrielle? Those are the questions passionate Hawke’s Bay forager Catherine Reeves asked herself after seeing the “destruction” of a densely wooded river entry in Maraekākaho near Hastings, where she had enjoyed a picnic under the shade just months earlier.

“The destruction is just right in front of you,” Catherine Reeves said of the previously shaded area near the Maraekākaho River.

She and her husband take pride in exploring the beauty of Hawke’s Bay’s landscape and have gone on numerous adventures over the years, but this recent one left them “devastated”.

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council (HBRC), which commissioned the felling, said the Maraekākaho access road was one of the 26 public access roads to rivers it managed.

“The tree clearing that took place in the berm and the stream channel was a response from the Cyclone Gabrielle channel projects team and the silver poplar control,” a council spokesman said.

“Regarding the silver poplar trees removed in the berm of the Maraekākaho stream, it was identified that some of those trees were already falling and could represent a future risk.”

Cyclone Gabrielle caused widespread damage to bridges and downstream stopbanks, with a build-up of slash and wood debris among the causes of the damage.

The risk was of the trees falling into the channel and creating an obstruction to flow, the spokesman said.

Reeves said she understood there were plenty of differing opinions on exotic trees and knew there were, in some cases, risks.

But she questioned why mass felling was becoming such a regular occurrence and whether it was necessary to get rid of all of them.

“Some of those poplars will fall, but why not just tidy those ones up and leave the rest to it? They didn’t have to take the whole lot out,” she said.

“Right now, they didn’t seem like a threat. Maybe that could have been in a longer-term plan? The cost of that at this time when there’s only so much money to go around to do the really vital work... it just does not stack up. It doesn’t seem like a priority right now.”

Catherine Reeves (inset) is concerned about the speed and scope of poplar tree felling at the Maraekākaho River entry and what it could mean for other wooded areas in Hawke's Bay. Photo / Warren Buckland

Reeves said she was worried this might mean further treed areas could also be on the chopping block.

She said the cyclone had also caused widespread damage to many of the parks and areas she often visited and feared there would be nowhere of beauty left to go.

“I’m concerned about [councils] bulldozing everything in sight.

“There are lots of different opinions on introduced trees, I get that. It’s just that we’ve had this happen again and again and again since the cyclone.

“We will never see it the same again in our lifetime because trees take so long to grow.”

The HBRC spokesperson said the council was now working with the Maraekākaho community to help plan for the enhancement of the entry area, which will include native replanting, trails, and picnic areas.

Mitchell Hageman joined Hawke’s Bay Today in January 2023. From his Napier base, he writes regularly on social issues, arts and culture, and the community. He has a particular love for stories about ordinary people doing extraordinary things.