A Ridge Too Far - The website of the Mt Cass Protection Society
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Between Waipara and the sea the Mt Cass Ridge is an area of Canterbury known to a relative few, mainly trampers, scientists and the like. It is a beautiful landscape of Limestone outcrops, cliffs and regenerating native bush that harbours many rare and endangered native species. To build a windfarm Mainpower plans a 10m wide road with cuts and fills up to 10m high between ridges and gulleys. This and associated pylon bases and gravel/concrete working areas that will destroy 30% of the regenerating naitve bush on the ridge

Wind power is touted as environmentally friendly but probably no other windfarm has been proposed or built on an area of such high landscape and ecological values. We are not opposed to windpower. We are not opposed to Mainpower. But we are opposed to the environmental destruction that will be wrought on this beautiful part of that will happen if this project goes ahead in it's present form.  We believe there are alternate sites in North Canterbury such as that proposed by Meridian at Centre Hill just to the north of Mt Cass but without the same high environmental values that could be developed for wind power.

We are here to give a voice to people opposed to the proposal by Mainpower to build a windfarm on Mt Cass Ridge. We aim to assist and coordinate those opposing the scheme.

News & Events:

AGM Wed 24 October 2012

Topics for discussion: For the windfarm to proceed on the land to the south west of Mt Cass - the are reffered to as the western extension - the DOC covenat on the are need to be considerably relaxed or lifted. Due to Earthquakes and staff changes at DoC this process is proceeding slowly. There is no precedent for such changes to a conservation covenat and no process of  guidelines as to who, if anyone should be consulted. We are watching this process. Also when the ownership of this land changed two years ago the new grazing manager had no idea of the restrictions on grazing in the covenant on this are and 10 or so years of recovery was elimantaed in a few month. DoC are preparing a report on this issue.