Wilding conifers

• On this page:

• The problem and the threat
• How wildings are controlled
• Working together to stop the spread
• National Pest Management Plan development
• The national programme
• Progress under the national programme
• What farmers and forest owners can do
• Research and analysis
• Find out more

Wilding conifers are a threat to our land and farms

Planted in the right place and properly managed, some introduced conifers can:

• provide timber
• store carbon
• decrease erosion
• filter soil nutrients
• improve water quality
• provide shelter and shade for livestock.

In the wrong place, certain species of conifers are a major threat to New Zealand's ecosystems, land, and farms.

While plantation forestry is typically planted with between 600 and 1,100 stems per hectare, self-seeded Pinus contorta and other wilding conifers grow as densely as 10,000 stems per hectare if not controlled. This is too dense to walk through.

It's estimated 25% of New Zealand would be covered in unwanted wilding conifers within 30 years if they were left to spread unchecked. Wilding conifers currently affect more than 2 million hectares of New Zealand. Despite past control efforts, they were spreading across about 90,000 hectares a year before the National Wilding Conifer Control Programme was established in 2016.

What is a wilding conifer?

Wilding conifers are self-seeded trees. Most of New Zealand's wilding conifers are the legacy of plantings between the 1800s and mid-1900s. The worst, fastest-spreading wilding conifer species is Pinus contorta or Lodgepole pine – declared an unwanted organism in 2010.  

Learn more about high-spreading species in the 'Wilding conifer quick ID guide'

Wilding conifers include other species of pines, firs, and larch (any type of conifer) that spread where they are not wanted and are hard to control.

• Seeds from high-spreading species can be blown many kilometres by wind and quickly infest vulnerable landscapes in affected regions.
• They spread into farmland and public conservation land, with the ability to grow high above the native bush line in hills and high country.
• Once established, wilding conifers compete with native plants for sunlight and water. This is especially problematic in sensitive catchments like the South Island high country, including around our hydroelectricity lakes.
• Within a few years they can severely alter natural landscapes and obscure the views New Zealand is famous for.

In different locations, wilding trees grow at different rates and in different densities. Often they are in terrain that is hard to get to. 

Controlling the spread of self-seeded wilding conifers is important if we're to protect our ecosystems, iconic landscapes, farms and our lakes.

Watch a video showing the effect of wilding conifers on alpine shrubland in northern Canterbury – YouTube (1.20)

How wildings are controlled

Wilding conifers are controlled in New Zealand using several methods, including:

• hand-pulling or hand-sawing young seedlings
• sawing or chain sawing medium- to large-sized trees
• using herbicide, either injected directly into the tree, or applied to bark, or in specific circumstances (less than 1% of all control work), sprayed over foliage
• harvesting methods to fell mature trees for logs or biofuel, where it is cost-effective and can be done safely.

The National Wilding Conifer Control Programme helps test and trial proposed control methods and produces good practice guidance for using new methods.

Protecting the surrounding environment, people, and property near the wildings while doing the control work is a priority. A lot of planning goes into selecting the safest and most effective control method for each site. This includes considering:

• safe access for contractors and equipment
• nearby land uses
• tree size and species
• size and density of the infested area
• native ecological significance of surrounding land
• practicality and cost effectiveness.

Drones that can spray precise targets are being trialled to control scattered trees, or those that can't be safely reached with other methods, using the lowest possible amount of herbicide.

Drone vs wilding pine – YouTube (2.03)

Working together under a national strategy

A refreshed national strategy is expected to be published in early 2027. Details about this are available on the Wilding Pines New Zealand website

The first national strategy for wilding conifer management ('The right tree in the right place: The New Zealand wilding conifer management strategy 2015–2030') was developed in 2014 by a cross-sector group, led by Biosecurity New Zealand. It recommended a coordinated and collaborative approach – combining efforts around the country and working together would increase the chances of stopping the spread and removing wildings. This strategy provided the framework for the national programme which was established in 2016. Most of the actions recommended in the original strategy have been delivered or integrated into the ongoing programme.  

The wilding conifer management strategy 2015–2030 [PDF, 1.3 MB]

National Pest Management Plan development

Led by Biosecurity New Zealand, work is underway to develop a National Pest Management Plan (NPMP) for wilding conifers.

An NPMP will provide consistent, clear rules and responsibilities for managing the unwanted spread and negative impacts of self-seeded exotic conifers like Pinus contorta. This will help achieve some of the aims in the national strategy, alongside the collaborative work delivered through the National Wilding Conifer Control Programme.

Which conifer species will be included in the plan, and what the measures may be, will be worked through with affected stakeholders and based on evidence.

The process of developing the NPMP will involve existing partners in the National Wilding Conifer Control Programme and a wide range of sectors that may be affected, and evidence from independent analysis.

The expected benefits from an NPMP for wilding conifers are:

• establishment of nationally consistent rules that provide clear accountability for the management of wilding conifers
• greater long-term management certainty to the parties involved in control operations
• strengthened national coordination of wilding conifer control operations, ensuring efficient and effective control work that reduces the spread of these trees
• increased protection for indigenous ecosystems, species that are taonga, culturally significant landscapes and wāhi tapu from invasion by wilding conifers
• improved economic outcomes for New Zealand, including the protection of productive land and the continued reduction in future control costs
• improved environmental outcomes, including improved biodiversity, catchment health, and reduced wildfire risk.

The National Wilding Conifer Control Programme

The National Wilding Conifer Control Programme was established in 2016 to deliver the aims of the 'National wilding conifer management strategy 2015–2030'. The programme is a partnership between central and local government agencies with the farming and forestry industries, landowners, the community sector, and a wide range of stakeholder groups.

Find out more about the national control programme – Wilding Pines

Government funding to date

• In 2016, the government pledged $16 million over 4 years for the first phase of the national programme, used for wilding conifer control in a few of the highest-priority areas.
• In 2019, a further $21 million was allocated over 2 years.
• In early 2020, $3 million from the COVID-19 relief package was used to redeploy workers affected by the pandemic into wilding conifer control.
• Budget 2020 allocated further Crown funding of $100 million over 4 years to expand the national programme.
• From the 2024–25 financial year, the programme has $10 million of annual baseline funding through Biosecurity New Zealand (MPI).
• The programme has been allocated additional funding through the International Visitor Levy in 2023–24 ($7 million), 2024–25 ($3.35 million), and 2025–26 ($3 million).
• In the 2025-26 financial year, ministers announced an additional $2 million of funding in addition to the $10 million baseline funding for this year.
• Budget 2026 allocated an additional $79 million for the National Wilding Conifer Control Programme over 3 years, bringing the total direct programme funding to $109 million from 2026–27 through to 2029–30.

Other contributors to wilding control

Partner contributions to the programme, in funding or in-kind support from councils, community trusts, landowners and others, have totalled more than $38 million between 2016 and 2026.

Many other wilding control efforts are not reported, including volunteer hours, landowners controlling wildings on their own land, iwi and community trusts and industry working together in special places. This work is important, limiting the spread of wildings and protecting unique landscapes and habitats.