Future Rivers goal is to provide funding for projects that preserve and enhance our outdoor freshwater recreational areas
What's been happening;
Stand Up for the Rakaia River - Protect the iconic Rakaia River from irreversible damage by supporting our cause - Donate Now
July 2024
Angler Groups to record the Oral Histories of the Rakaia River - the NZ Salmon Anglers, NZFFA and FR believe it's an important next step
Update - Who should be looking after our Conservation Order (NWCO) Rivers?
June 2024
A brief update - FR, the NZ Salmon Anglers and NZFFA have joined forces to contine this process. Mediation occurs mid June and we'll be there as interested partys.
Who should be looking after our Conservation Order (NWCO) Rivers?
5th March 2023
Local anglers report significant changes have occurred to the Conservation Order protected Rakaia River, but who should be looking after it? The full story is here;
When things aren't as they should be
26th April 2023
Trustee Activity Record.
Over a number of years this Trustee tried very hard get positive changes so licenceholders were better represented, and our fisheries better looked after, change though, proved to be a hard road to travel...
Hinds River - the receiving environment
5th May 2021
I learnt to fish on this little stream, it used to have an abundant brown trout fishery, now it is something you would expect in a 3rd world country with no rules or regulations. The full story is here;
MHV - Licence to Pollute!
18th April 2021
I've read the consent application, seriously underwhelming, misses the state of the lower Hinds river, will reduce nitrates from a mean of 8.3 to 5.06 by 2035 - still more than twice the NPSFW 2020 rate of 2.4 - typical delay tactics...
Hakakteramea River RESULT!
16th April 2021
Water to stay in the River - Having submitted on this we are delighted to report;
DECISION 160. Under the powers delegated to me by the Canterbury Regional Council, for the reasons given above, pursuant to sections 104 and 104B, and subject to Part 2 of the Resource Management Act 1991, I DECLINE the application by NSK Farming Limited for water permit CRC145237 to abstract water from a storage dam to use for irrigation.
Rangitata APPEAL RESULT!
25th Feb 2021
We are delighted that the RDR have chosen to not to further pursue the consent to take 10m3 from the Rangitata River!!
Good News - New RDR Fish Screen Spotted - it's only a matter of time now!
January 2021
Good to see, I understand it will still be some time before it's all installed and doing what it's supposed to. Once in, this will be a significant step in protecting all fish species in the river, and for anglers, will allow more salmon fry to successfully migrate from the headwaters to the sea. In other news we are moving ahead with the Oral Histories for the River, this work is underway and we look forward to that being completed
Statutory plan for the rangitata River
December 2020
Back in October our angler groups presented a request to the Ecan Councilors, asking that they consider creating a statutory plan to further protect the Rangitata River. This is because at the moment there is no upper cap on the amount of water able to be abstracted, and also because our group believe the River is in a degraded state
Angler Appeal Update June 2020
26th June 2020
Anglers have achieved a lot by appealing the RDR water take, this update lists those, plus there are a number of initiatives in the pipeline - next up our Deputation to Ecan
Oral History
Gary Allan
April 2020
Thank you Gary for your delightful stories of life on the Upper Rangitata River
Appeal Group to send Deputation to Ecan Councilors
19th March 2020
Following on from our meeting with the Minister, pleased to report that our Rangitata Appeal Group is asking to present to the Ecan Council to ask for a Statutory Plan for the Rangitata river,
which would include a cap on further abstractions, looking like the meeting will be at the May council meeting! This follows on from a letter from the CEO stating if we can show it's in a degraded state Ecan will reconsider this Press Report 16th April
Appeal Group Meets with the Minister!
25th February 2020
Delighted to report that our Rangitata Appeal Group met today with the Minister of Conservation, The Hon Eugenie Sage. The discussion centered around the lack of a regional plan for the river, the lack of a cap on abstractions, fish screens, and the fact that the Conservation Order wasn't protecting the inherent vales as it was set out to do. Also heard of the good work DOC are doing on the river currently surveying different biodiversity areas
Major research on the Rangitata River to take place this year
10 February 2020
The efforts put in by the 3 Rangitata River appeal groups, the NZ Salmon Angers, the South Cantu Salmon Anglers and the FR Trust started this ball rolling, exciting to see it coming to fruition soon - roll on Autumn and the start of the study!!
oral histories REQUESTED FOR THE Rangitata river
27th January 2020
Experienced anglers are being sought for their Rangitata River stories to be included in an oral history. New Zealand Salmon Anglers Association spokesman Paul Hodgson said the history project, hopefully done in conjunction with a Canterbury or Lincoln University student, was an opportunity to "put a human face on the values of the river".
Bowyers Stream Again
7th Dec 2019
Once again anglers at expressing concern at river control works carried out by Ecan in a local stream...
Help save the Famous Mataura River from explotation by tourism interests wanting to start a Commercial Rafting operation on it
18th SeptemberAugust 2019
Please sign the petition here
Rangitata - Commercial Jetboat abandons consent
30th August 2019
Earlier in the year we were advised, just in the nick of time, of an application for a new commercial jet boat operation in the pristine upper Rangitata River - the Rangitata's been in the news a lot lately, unfortunately for the wrong reasons, however, a combined effort to get submissions in on this followed, and we are pleased to say, has resulted in the applicant withdrawing their consent application, meaning anglers will still be able to enjoy the peace and solitude that the upper river offers going forward.
Rangitata Appeal - June Update
10th June 2019
The process is ticking a long, we had the final mediation in mid May, we can't talk about what occurs at mediation, any results will become available in due course.
In the mean time we have been eagerly awaiting the start of the Lidar Sediment Study, once again it's been delayed by high river flows, - it will happen, just as soon as the river settled down to it's normal winter low flows, so fingers crossed
The Rangitata - Home to endangered native birds - At Risk!
24th March 2019
Amongst these birds are several species that are considered to be nationally or internationally threatened with extinction
the Problem - It's supposed to be a Braided River!!
20th March 2019
The river is changing, sediment covers large areas of the lower river, burying the gravels, smothering the life that supports the ecosystems of the lower river that birds, native and introduced fish need to survive
the Rangitata Sediment Study is kicking Off!!
17th March 2019
It been a long process to date, the mediation is continuing, and so is the second stage of the high tech sediment study on the lower river, an important step as we continue to fight to save our river from continued abstraction... more info soon
Angler Groups To Appeal the Rangitata water decision!
31 July 2018
Local anglers lead the way over the fight to save Rangitata River for future generations
Rangitata river is giving it's all
July 2018
How much is too much? when is enough enough? The RDRML has been grant consent to take an extra 10 cubic meters of water, what's to stop the next guy coming along and grabbing another 10 - the Water Conservation Order is not protecting this River.
Is there any progress with Didymo?
A number of prime fisheries have been impacted by Didymo infestations, the Buller, Gowan, Hurunui, Tekapo, Waitaki, Mararoa, and Wairau Rivers come quickly to mind. Research shows clearly how Didymo can impacts on our fisheries, with greatly reduced numbers, and the total fish biomass declining by up to 90%.
Is there a solution?
It's a strange old world...
In spring 2013 Future Rivers bought to the attention of CSI F&G these types of works, a meeting was arranged between the Ecan river engineer, ourselves and CSI F&G. At that meeting the CSI F&G officer told the Ecan river engineer and ourselves that he 'could see few issues' with this type of work - at the time we were standing right in front of one of a number of pools the river control people had taken out in Bowyers Stream! I followed up with the CSI Chief Executive Jay Graybil and later the CSI Council, providing detailed information and photo's of the extent of these works. We had proposed developing a set of guidelines to minimise the impact for this type of work, not only to Bowyers Stream, but all fisheries, but CSI F&G undermined that completely - So this recent work could have been avoided had CSI F&G been more astute...
In responses to: Environment Canterbury has given an infringement notice to itself for polluting a stream
Freshwater Management
Should we expect more from our Politicians??
When politicians start misleading the public it's important to call them out - water management is a key issue for us - so we have responded to Nick Smiths new standards and shown how previous initiatives of his also lack integrity... To fix freshwater it needs to start at the top...
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Expert Anglers all agree that Deep Creek needs to be fixed
5 Expert Anglers with combined fishing and professional experience exceeding 150 years say that Deep Creek (Rangitata River) needs to be fixed now and agree CSI Fish and Game have got this all wrong!
Allan Kircher, Martin Langlands, Kevin Payne, Dean Whaaga and Steve Gerard say the stream should be fixed now....!! more
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Deep Creek Update
Unfortunately for all of those who care about this special place, the worst has happened....;
Deep Creek was the epitome of New Zealand fly fishing, stunning scenery, big fish - yes trophy potential, crystal clear waters, world class 4kms of water Lets be very clear - this stream was diverted illegally by a previous land owner, that shouldn't have happened. The Future Rivers Trust offer to pay the cost to restore the stream. However Central South Island Fish and Game in their wisdom have steadfastly refused to allow that to happen... this despite the very apparent ongoing losses to the fishery....
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Irrigations Schemes powering ahead...
3 Canterbury Irrigation schemes have recently signaled plans to expand, the RDR have lodged consent applications to take another 10 cumecs from the Rangitata River and to build a large storage pond, the Hinds/Mayfield scheme have signaled an expansion of 4500 hectares, and the Central Plain scheme have signaled they'll move ahead with stage II irrigating a further 20,000ha! More intensification before the current issues have been mitigated.
More Good Work in the Tasman District!
This is an awesome example of how a community can work together to look after our environment!! Well done!
River Flood Protection Works
A few years back I highlighted the plight of one of our local streams here in Mid Canterbury where overly zealous river flood protection works had destroyed fish habitat, here the NZFFA's Dave Haynes tells us what is going on this time in the Nelson region;
Up Date June 2016
Sorry for the lack of updates, it's not that the trust hasn't been doing anything, it's more that it's largely been behind the scenes in an attempt to move things forward on Deep Creek in particular. To that ends I got myself elected onto the CSI F&G council so I could push this issue. I raised the issue at the December 2015 meeting where it met quite stiff opposition from some and the council wouldn't budge. Other interesting points regarding this is the recent prosecution of the farmer in the NI for diverting a stream with a maximum penalty of a 2 year prison term or $300K fine. And back in about 2003 I understand the Ashburton Council got into trouble for realigning Gentleman Smith stream up by L Heron - and were made to put it back to how it was. The question now is 'where to' regarding this issue - we have hit a brick wall...
Jet boats on the North Ashburton?
Is the North Ashburton river really flowing again?
It could be done, that is the message I want to convey
So what’s going on in the North Ashburton, where has all this water suddenly come from?
Is this what we can expect in the future??... read more
Kakapo Brook needs our help
Kakapo Brook a picturesque small spawning stream up near Hamner is under threat from an irrigation/hydro power development. This highlights a worrying new trend being taken in the back country... for more info and to sign the petition
Deep Creek Salmon Spawning area's now almost gone...
This 165 meter stretch is the largest area that was well used by salmon, evidence of where they have dug their redds can be seen by the changes in water colour and in the indents in the gravel on the left hand de-watered edges which clearly show it has been used by spawning salmon in previous years, and there's a Redd (nest) in the foreground - this is all going to dry up completely very soon with a net loss of salmon spawning area... read more
Deep Creek
A superb back country stream in a superb location -
You might find this hard to believe, that such a superb stream can be treated this way - but it is 100% true, the middle section of this stream has had it's flow diverted from the main stem, and despite Future Rivers best efforts the powers that be are doing nothing - please read the details and act by contacting CSI F&G and asking for immediate action. Details here
The Hinds River - New ZIP released
March sees the release of the Zone Implementation Plan (Part of the CWMS) for the Hinds River - Ok if you can wait 21 years for a result!! Future Rivers' view is that this simply is not good enough - Summary here: Hinds River
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Ashburton River network
Considerable amounts of 'control work' have been administered in anticipation of flooding and erosion around the Ashburton River Network. It was noted by Future Rivers that numerous sections of tributaries to the Ashburton River had been manipulated over the last months, to the detriment of the fishery and angling experience. Research into how the Canterbury regions river engineering is administered and what guidelines are in place for 'best practice' both in operational works and in consultation has led us to discussion around development of guidelines for the protection of fisheries and anglers recreational experience. We look forward to seeing the new Canterbury regional land and water management plan come into action and the use of it in the management of our natural resources.
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Fish in Schools - Young Anglers 'Hooked on fun'
Young Anglers is a participation based schools model for raising fish and learning skills in freshwater environments. With support from the Future Rivers Trust and a lot of planning from hard working volunteers, this project has been made a reality. The aim of this pilot strategy is to develop a working model for nation wide facilitation in 2014 and drive greater interest and participation of youth in fishing.
The Fish in Schools project aligns perfectly with the Future Rivers philosophy. We believe this project can be the catalyst for change in the ways that education can develop the values of environmental stewardship in our youth. Follow this link to see more here.
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