Forest & Bird: Recent Topics

auckland anne on "Ecologist working to save kokako at Ark in the Park"

auckland anne — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:55:05 +0000

<a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/western-leader/6389583/Ecologist-on-track-to-help-save-kokako" rel="nofollow">http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/western-leader/6389583/Ecologist-on-track-to-help-save-kokako</a>

ecogeek on "Tui plague worsens!"

ecogeek — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 19:08:06 +0000

Now that the flax has been in flower for some time, it has become noticable how much the tui population in Wellington has grown over the last decade or so, leading to people to joke about the there being a "tui plague". Once a very uncommon bird in the city (I think I saw several of them in the 1990s) they are now seen everywhere, including areas such as Miramar peninsula where they had been absent for possibly decades. So how did this happen so quickly? Most people attribute it solely to the opening of Zealandia/Karori Wildlife Sanctuary 10 years ago. At 250 hectares of predator-free environment it does produce a lot of birds but there are other reasons that may be of use/inspiring to people outside of Wgtn who are involved in habitat restoration. Probably the most important reason is that about 10 years ago, a large-scale possum control programme was begun throughout the Wgtn region using Broadifacoum and Pindone. This has significantly knocked the possum population back, meaning more flowers, leaves and fruit for birds, and less chicks predated by possums. I'm not sure if either of these poisons has a by-kill effect on mustelids. I think they also kill rodents. Wgtn has a significant green belt, I think over 1,000 hectares within the city limits, and the outer green belt in the western hills is equally large. Most of the green belt is regenerating bush, with patches of old growth bush. The hilly geography means that many people have quite wildback yards, with predominately native trees self-seeding in people's yards. While there are a number of exotic species that are found in gardens and that have naturalised in the wild, due to the wild nature of the climate here it is native plants that have spread the most back into areas that had been cleared. 20 years ago there were several reveg projects in Wgtn, 10 years ago there were about 30-40, now there are over 100, possibly as high as 140. They range in size from very small (less than 1 hectare) to more than 10 hectares. They cover a range from planting and weed control in coastal dunes, streams, steep hills and damp gullys to trapping programmes in established bush. A couple of years ago bird counts had shown that tui populations had increased by 800% since 2000ad. Kereru populations had increased by 250%, and other bird species such as riroriro (grey warbler) had also increased significantly. While tui have increased disproportionately this is probably because they are quick to recover when circumstances allow. They eat a wide range of food and can nest almost anywhere. Kereru in contrast depend quite a lot on larger trees and blocks of bush for nesting, and do best where there is a lot of old growth (their populations are highest around Otari/Wilton's Bush, and in parts of the Hutt Valley like Percy Reserve, Kaitoki and by the city water catchment in Wainuiomata - all areas with good predator/possum control). Kaka have made a comeback - from none to about 150 or more due to the release of about 30 in Zealandia a few years ago. There are reports of them nesting outside of the sanctuary but they will be limited by the lack of old forest within the city. The only drawback to all this is that possum control has led to the faster spread of some invasive species. Cotoneaster in particular seems to be spreading in the Hutt Valley. This will be a particular problem an the neighbouring beech forest in Rimutaka and Tararua Ranges as beech can quickly beocme established in the more open habitat there, displacing native species. Um, not quite sure about where I'm going with all this but I thought it may be of use or interest to anyone involved in reveg projects as it has surprised me how quickly species recovery has happened in Wgtn.

woodhouse on "Morepork"

woodhouse — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 03:23:21 +0000

Heared one three times on different nights since moving near to small pocket of native bush early Nov. Haven't heard it for the last 2 weeks (approx). Could it have been a visitor rather than a resident and is it possible to tell? There are bush corridors going up to the Auckland Regional Botanic Gardens and Totara Park, so I'm thinking maybe it was just visiting. Is there anyway to encourage Morepork to take up residence? It's unfortunate that there is quite a bit of noise on occassions from the people who reside in the area and of course there were a lot of fireworks New Year's Eve and last night in the neighbouring suburbs. Could the Morepork have been scared off?

kukupa on "Pest control, How to do it."

kukupa — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 01:09:35 +0000

This topic is for people who are doing or wanting to do pest control. I have found over years of doing pest control it is forever changing, so sharing techniques, photos and storys can help us all do a better job. All efforts of pest control are worthwhile - even if it's setting a possum trap in your backyard to really large scale projects. Please feel free to add your hints, comments and photos.

woodhouse on "Advice on small pocket of native bush"

woodhouse — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 00:20:15 +0000

I live near several small pockets of native bush in the suburbs, and have native trees in the garden. I have seen fantails, wax-eyes, and tuis (the latter are being very noisy at the moment). I can hear a variety of bird song and calls but apart from the obvious ones (sparrow, tui, blackbird and fantail) I don't know what I'm hearing. Where would be the best place to learn about what birds make these sounds? I'm also interested in know what to do to preserve and enccourage birds, butterflies and beneficial insects to the garden. I have no lawn or flower beds, just lots of trees and some pebble garden. Any advice would be welcome.

dave on "Fiorldland Link Experience Submission"

dave — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 08:48:18 +0000

Hi, Am wanting to make a submission regarding Fiordland link proposal aka "The Monorail". I am not too familiar with all the technicalities of this issue. Can anyone give me some vital points I should include. Thanks

Wetkiwi on "Finding Kiwi"

Wetkiwi — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 05:07:23 +0000

Hi, My friend owns a large block of native hillside near Oakura in Northland. Apparently it has kiwi on it - based on friends reports of hearing kiwi calls and pig hunters finding kiwi sign (apparently). I'm really keen to see one, and if possible photograph one. Any pointers on how to find them and if possible get close to them? Also are there any cat/dog friendly traps or poisons that would be suitable against rats/possums? Cheers

auckland anne on "DoC 200 traps -"

auckland anne — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 03:18:39 +0000

Just an alert if you have recently bought, or are thinking of buying some DOC 200 traps. There appears to have been some recent design changes which means the trigger can jam sometimes. The Kapiti stoat eradication team are looking into the problem and hopefully it can be sorted ASAP. This news came from Northland Save the Kiwi.

auckland anne on "Transfer of hihi from Tiri to Bushy Park"

auckland anne — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 22:11:04 +0000

Plans to reintroduce hihi to Bushy Park are well underway. If you are interested in assisting with this, particularly with the capture of birds on Tiritiri Matangi Island, currently scheduled for late March-early April, please contact Allan Anderson (al.rose@xtra.co.nz). You will... be on the island for nearly a week, helping to set nets and capture birds. (You don't have to have experience with this as you'll be working under the direction of experts.) I think you'll be responsible for your own transport to Whangaparoa, from where the ferry leaves for Tiri, but Allan is arranging accommodation on the island. Once the hihi have been taken to Bushy park and released there, they'll need volunteers to supplementary-feed the birds until they become established.

auckland anne on "the roles of scientific reserves vs recreation reserves and zoos"

auckland anne — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:32:32 +0000

Today in the news is Motuihe Island (part of a series about some of the islands near Auckland city). Motuihe is classified as a recreation reserve as opposed to a scientific reserve like Tiri, so it is arguably "more appropriate" to attract visitors to recreation islands to see species like kiwi and saddlebacks, than islands like Tiri. I have a real concern about the way Tiri is seen and used almost as an open zoo for people to visit at will and see animals which mightn't have lived there without human intervention. My concern is that the Conservation Dept seems to be becoming more one of Tourism. Especially after reading a bit in the weekend about Kate Wilkinson applauding the success of Sylvia Park (as far as I was aware it is a new suburb up here with a large shopping mall) and saying it shows how we can attract huge numbers of people to our parks by following a similar model. Wasn't quite sure what she meant, quite honestly. But obviously the pressure is to attract people to our parks in large numbers. If we want to attract a lot of people to see native animals and plants and conservation, that's what our zoos are looking at doing more now in't it?. Are places like Tiri now little more than zoos in fact?

Gerry on "Haast-Milford New Highway Promotion"

Gerry — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 22:42:50 +0000

Tourism promoters in Southland and Scenic Circle Hotel Owner Earl Hageman have this month been pushing hard for the construction of a highway through the heart of the South West NZ-Te Wahi Pounamu World Heritage Site. The road would link Haast south along the wilderness coastline to Big Bay then up the Hollyford Valley to join up with the Milford Road. It would be an ecological disaster. There has been a lot of coverage given to the proposal in Southland, Otago and West Coast papers but the biggest push seems to be coming from Southland tourist promoters not from the West Coast. At a time when we are trying to limit CO2 emissions from vehicles, the construction of a massive new highway is unwarranted. The road would drive a dagger through the wilderness of Southern South Westland. It would destroy coastal rainforest breeding areas of endangered tawaki (Fiordland Crested penguin) all the way along the coastline, about 40km length in total. There would be massive destruction of wilderness. New bridges would hasten the movement across rivers of possums into places where they have not yet colonised. Maintaining our existing NZ highway network is a huge annual cost and if the one lane bridges are eventually to be replaced on Highway 6, the existing highway maintenance cost will be even more massive. Ironically, the Haast-Hollyford Road compounds, rather than relieves, any pressure on Milford Sound road access. This is because the vehicle pressure point is the Homer Tunnel to Milford stretch. The proposed road does nothing to mitigate this. It would link up with the existing road east of the Homer tunnel in the Upper Hollyford. We all thought that this wilderness road concept had died a natural death years ago but at a time when there are calls for infrastructure projects to boost the economy, we need to watch this one closely to make sure it doesn't gather a head or steam. Has anyone got any photos of the Hollyford or the Big Bay coastline?

Mandy on "Rena Oil Spill"

Mandy — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 19:21:40 +0000

This is the latest media update from Maritime NZ Please note: if you would like to be part of the response team go here - <a href="http://www.boprc.govt.nz/oilspillvolunteers." rel="nofollow">www.boprc.govt.nz/oilspillvolunteers.</a> 7am, Tuesday 11 January 2012 A short update on the Rena operation is below. · An observation flight this morning has confirmed no significant change to the state of the two pieces of the wreck. · Observers noted very little debris remaining around the wreck, as well as a light oil sheen. · An oil spill response flight last night confirmed no significant amounts of oil coming ashore. · An observation flight has gone up this morning to check on any oil coming ashore overnight. · Oil spill response teams, wildlife teams and container recovery teams will be out in the field today. · Any members of the public interested in assisting with the clean up effort should visit <a href="http://www.boprc.govt.nz/oilspillvolunteers." rel="nofollow">www.boprc.govt.nz/oilspillvolunteers.</a> 7pm, Monday 10 January 2012 Oil Spill Response · Maritime New Zealand’s oil spill response team has placed the first boom, at Maketu, in anticipation of oil from the Rena reaching shore tomorrow. · Sensitive sites have been checked today and plans updated for dealing with any oil that comes ashore. · Extra teams will be available tomorrow to respond to any reports of fresh oil. · The wildlife centre at Te Maunga has been recommissioned. No confirmed reports of oiled birds have been received since the Rena’s stern section sank today. · Wildlife patrols will be on the beaches tomorrow, including teams at Motiti Island and at Matakana. · The volunteer oil spill response programme has been reactivated. People who have previously registered to help clean up beaches will be contacted to see whether they still wish to participate. New volunteers can register through the Bay of Plenty website: <a href="http://www.boprc.govt.nz/oilspillvolunteers" rel="nofollow">www.boprc.govt.nz/oilspillvolunteers</a> · Two community meetings will be held for Tauranga and Western Bay residents at Tauranga on Thursday, at 12pm and 6pm, both in the Tauranga Boys’ College Auditorium If you would like to see photos and video of the Rena, media conferences and the situation on the shoreline you can find them on the Bay of Plenty Regional Council website (www.boprc.govt.nz). Keep up to date via our Facebook pages at <a href="http://www.facebook.com/#" rel="nofollow">www.facebook.com/#</a>!/boprc for the latest news. If you would prefer not to receive these email updates, please reply and we will remove your details from our list.

Tawaki on "Keas for Keeps"

Tawaki — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 02:18:51 +0000

A sea level/lowland population of at least 15 keas are living here South Westland in the kahikatea dominated Moeraki Valley floor forest. Radio tracking by DOC here shows that althought these birds are called mountain parrots, they are actually permanently resident in low altitude podocarp-beech rainforest. Moreover they are successfully breeding here. This morning we had 5 juveniles parading all around our house showing off their whitish coloured head feathers and their very yellow upper beaks and eye surrounds. This valley and the native forests right down this coastline have been the focus of a huge DOC aerial 1080 pest control operations. Since 1998 there have been 5 separate 1080 applications over the last 14 years, the most recent on 27 October 2011. This treated the entire 10,000ha Abbey Rocks block between the Moeraki and Paringa Rivers. 9 kea were radio tracked here before and after that operation and all survived unscathed. Moreover, the presence of these young birds seen today shows that without the disastrous impact of stoats and possums that kill most kea chicks on their nests, our Southern South Westland keas here are prospering. Kea can be heard here all day long around where we live. They are very popular with the tourists here who love to photograph them. They call in the dark from their kahikatea tree roosts and nest sites. Howvever we never feed them and they just go about their business almost oblivious to human presence. Here is a photo of a young kea that I took on the summit of Arthur's Pass showing the yellow upper beak and eye ring

auckland anne on "Will zoos replace the job of reserves?"

auckland anne — Thu, 26 May 2011 05:24:02 +0000

I was having a look at the news about the planned native habitat and species' section at Auckland Zoo <a href="http://www.aucklandzoo.co.nz/whats-happening/te-wao-nui.aspx" rel="nofollow">http://www.aucklandzoo.co.nz/whats-happening/te-wao-nui.aspx</a> and I began wondering whether zoos will replace the protection of species and educating the public about habitats and species that nature reserves and the like have done up to now? Especially if the govt feels they can divest DoC of some of it's work and pass that work on to private enterprise. Has implications for the whole scenario of restoration projects and places, like Tiri and Mt Bruce came to mind.

Tawaki on "Russian Fishing Boat Plundering the Ross Sea and now in trouble"

Tawaki — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 18:17:22 +0000

Caring New Zealanders who support a Ross Sea marine reserve will be delighted I'm sure to know that our hard earned taxes are paying for a NZ Air Force Hercules aircraft and ships to go to the rescue of a Russian fishing boat in the Ross Sea. Check out the photos on <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz" rel="nofollow">www.stuff.co.nz</a> and you can see how this sinking rust bucket is hard against the Antarctic ice with a hole well below its waterline. Undoubtedly down in the Ross Sea to plunder the Antarctic toothfish, this marine rescue and potential environmental disaster is yet another example of why the entire Ross Sea should be a fully protected marine reserve where fishing is outlawed. Over the next few days we will no doubt learn who the Russian boat was fishing for and what, if any, NZ involvement there is in its charter or its fishing operations. We shouldn't forget that NZ fishing companies are up to their eyeballs in the plunder of this last great fishing wilderness, Antarctica and its surrounding waters. I don't want my taxes used to rescue environmental scumbags. Let the other rogue fishermen down there show the solidarity of the oceans and rescue their own collaborators.

Mandy on "Denniston plateau"

Mandy — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 20:53:48 +0000

If you missed it last night, here's a piece on the Denniston plateau and our bid to save it from a large-scale coal mining operation <a href="http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/fight-underway-stop-coal-mine-4436196/video" rel="nofollow">http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/fight-underway-stop-coal-mine-4436196/video</a> Presently, we're encouraging people to collect signatures which we'll pass onto the Minister of Conservation.

auckland anne on "Red flowering mistletoe and pohutukawa"

auckland anne — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 07:39:39 +0000

"mistletoe out on beech trees at the Quailburn, a Conservation area near Omarama and the East Ahuriri River. We have just been doing a tenure review inspection up that way" from janet ledingham of Dunedin F&B

black tomtit on "ships documentary"

black tomtit — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 04:59:24 +0000

After the Rena incident and the Russian boat Sparta I felt is is time to raise the topic of a very interesting documentary I saw about twenty years ago about oil tankers and bulk carriers sinking causing environmental disasters and deaths of people working aboard them. I can't remember the name of the documentary or who put it out. It came out after the Braer oil spill in Shetland. It was very interesting as it went into the details of flags of convienience and ships that had rusted right through and whose owners coverered up the evidence. Has anyone else seen it? or taped it? I guess it was on so long ago there were only videos I taped it but the tape was lost and there were no DVDs back in those days.

ecogeek on "Kawakawa dieback - any advice?"

ecogeek — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 08:56:56 +0000

A month or so back I noticed that a 70cm-tall kawakawa in my back yard in Wellington was starting to wilt and get a yellow colour to its' leaves. Then yesterday I saw that it has almost completley died. I've done a google search for info on kawakawa dieback but there isn't a lot of info out there. All I could find was that it was first noticed in Auckland in 2008 and has since spread from there. I haven't noticed any dieback of kawakawa elsewhere in Wellington so am wondering if perhaps this particular plant may just be a victim of the wet winter and spring, which has made the clay soil quite waterlogged at times. Anyone know if kawakawa dieback has been reported in Wgtn at all? I presume it's best to rip out the dying plant and get rid of it to prevent the possible spread of disease if indeed it does have a disease.

kukupa on "The Green Party."

kukupa — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 19:34:58 +0000

What makes your life richer?

auckland anne on "Denniston mining"

auckland anne — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 22:21:28 +0000

I apologise in advance for possibly upsetting anyone involved with this campaign to stop the mine at Denniston. However, i must say that I've been a little bit disappointed by the absemce of any recognition given to the parties, including the F&B legal team especially, for the conditions achieved to protect the environment to some degree at the local Denniston site (e.g. various pest controls, spotted kiwi management plan, powelliphanta management plan, site rehabilitation post-mine, bond...) during the resource consent application earlier in the year. This WAS publicly-notified, and thanks should go to all those who made submissions at this stage, because I really believe they influenced the final consent conditions. Given how things have gone more recently with DoC and their granting access to the mining operation, if F&B hadn't influenced the resource consent decisions then we'd be facing an even bigger mess. And people need to know that their making the effort to write a submission means something.

auckland anne on "Butterfly homes and boxes for ruru"

auckland anne — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 21:38:55 +0000

Our Central Auckland branch is looking very keenly at starting two projects. One is to create a safe-haven for native butterflies in the middle of Auckland here, and the other (unrelated) is to possibly build nesting-boxes for morepork which are gaining numbers living here now. We are after hearing from anyone interested in either of these scheme. but maybe moreso at the moment about the practicality and how best to build boxes for morepork. Any advice on either please contact <a href="mailto:centralauckland.branch@forestandbird.org.nz">centralauckland.branch@forestandbird.org.nz</a> Thanks.

Kirstie on "Somali pirates protect fish stocks"

Kirstie — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 20:09:04 +0000

An interesting article on the Herlad website today suggests that fish stocks off the coast of Kenya are being boosted - largely in part to Somali pirates preventing illegal trawlers from catching fish in the region. Two messages in this for me - 1. Enforcement of rules is needed and it really works 2. Trawl fishing can have devastating impacts on fish stocks. So,... what about here? Trawl fishing is amongst the most commonly practised commercial fishing method in New Zealand - if not THE most common fishing method. Our enforcement is poor. The highest rate of observer cover is about 40% - largely in fisheries with high bycatch of sea lions and seabirds. Our domestic tuna fleet however (which catches and fins more sharks than it catches tuna) has less than 1% observer cover. What do you think we should do about this?

gsrad on "Albino Grey Warbler"

gsrad — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 11:24:36 +0000

Today I saw an unusual pair of Grey Warblers. One was normal, but the other was almost pure white, with a patch of very pale yellow on the wing. It was so friendly we were within touching distance, so had a very good view. So far I have recorded a black fantail, a tailless fantail and now the albino warbler. I guess I should remember to take my camera with me!

black tomtit on "Our vanishing elephant seals"

black tomtit — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 02:06:14 +0000

I have read with concern the number of Southern elephant seals has declined by a staggering 97%. This never makes the news. Everyone talks about sea lions and fur seals being killed but neither of these has declined by 97% since the 1950s. As they are marine mammals also we should be very concerned that they have undergone such a massive decline and appear to be heading for extinction in our sector of the Southern ocean. Are they also caught in commercial fisheries? as no one ever talks about elephant seal bycatch. Or is it overfishing of the toothfish which elephant seals eat. Or is it the biggest threat to our planet Global warming?

Roger Parker on "Motion sensor camera photos"

Roger Parker — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 02:41:54 +0000

Hi folks, thought you might enjoy these. Taken from a motion sensor camera in the far north last month.

auckland anne on "Kiwi (and other birds??) protection"

auckland anne — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 06:39:36 +0000

Here's a poem done by one of the members of our branch KCC after seeing kiwi recovery work with Operation nestegg at Rainbow Springs. She and her friend then went on to raise $1200 for Operation nestegg/kiwi by holding cake stalls, sponsorships to do the Otago Rail Trail etc etc. How kids see pest control: Our Beloved Kiwi: Hello my dear kiwi friend It’s sad you are coming so close to an end Pecking so loudly at the start of the night The way we have treated you is just not right The ferrets and rats The stoats and cats The people and dogs We destroyed your home for food and logs At one year, less than 5% of chicks survive Now, Operation Nest Egg will help you stay alive With special attention to your natural home Once again, in thousands you will roam Poem by Claire MacLennan

kukupa on "Don't ban 1080. Understand 1080"

kukupa — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 07:44:24 +0000

Kia ora I had only heard about the giant rata-podicarp forests of Whirinaki, an hour northeast of Taupo: enormous rata, rimu, totota, and matai forests, five to seven hundred years old. Seeing them in real life was more spectacular than I imagined. It sent shivers down my spine. A lot of the credit goes to DOC and activists such as Stephen King for saving these trees. But these forest giants, and indeed most of our forests, along with our native birdlife are in a state of collapse from a sustained assault by introduced pests. The most notable threat is the naive, ill-informed, emotionally-charged and selfish Anti-1080 extremist. This pest is intent on seeing our nationally treasured flora and fauna destroyed by removing one of the most useful and misunderstood poisons in our toolbox for pest control. Not only that, they are now terrorising 1080 contractors and their families and defacing the fantastic work DOC are doing. In search of a close campsite to Whirinaki in the Minginui area, we came across dozens of DOC signs and buildings graffitied with “Ban 1080”. It looked like the work of just a couple of passionate but embarrassingly misguided anti 1080 extremists. The active ingredient in 1080 is a naturally-occurring, biodegradable toxin that plants use to discourage browsing animals. Not only that, low concentrations of 1080 are found naturally in tea and puha. Nationally in areas where there has been ongoing pest control, including aerial 1080 drops, the results speak for themselves. The forest and native bird life has bounced back with vigour. I for one want to see more biodegradable 1080 used, not less. According to the DOC worker we spoke to, about $10,000 worth of graffiti damage had occurred in one night: a bill the tax-payer will have to pickup. His truck had been pelted with rocks by extremists at a nearby 1080 drop. To the anti-1080 extremist: put your selfish interests of deer and pig hunting aside. Take responsibility for you dogs like you would if you had laid rat bait. Stop ridiculous 1080 conspiracy claims. STOP destroying our only hope and start reading. Understand the problem that 1080 solves. If you know how to use a computer, visit the website <a href="http://www.1080facts.co.nz." rel="nofollow">www.1080facts.co.nz.</a> Put your energies into saving our national forests. The pest problem is so big it will take all of us to work as a team fix it. Don’t ban 1080, understand 1080.

Tawaki on "Save the Great Waitutu Forest"

Tawaki — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 05:45:32 +0000

Over the last 2 days helicopters have been pre-feeding non toxic baits to the rats and possums that infest the wonderful 45,000hectare Waitutu Forest portion of Fiordland National Park bordering Foveaux Strait. Since its legal protection in the late 1980s and subsequent addition to Fiordland National Park, there has been virtually no pest control carried out over most of Waitutu (and most of Fiordland National park for that matter!). Consequently, this forest once the NZ stronghold for South island Kaka, mistletoe, fuchsia, rata and a host of native forest birds has seen a plummeting in its native biodiversity. Southland DOC had been cowered by deerstalkers who are very dominant in the province. Southland DOC also had little money to carry out extensive pest control in Waitutu. Boosted by $500,000 from special Government Funds allocated for the protection of the Waitutu protected Maori lands (3,000hectares), DOC Southland have just started treating about 30,000 hectares of Waitutu Forest to control pests. The first stage, carried out over the last 2 days of fine weather, is to get the pests all eating untreated pellets. This dramatically increases the effectiveness of 1080 treated baits that will be applied in about a week to 10 days time when weather conditions are suitable. With this "pre-feed," an estimated 98% of possums and rats are killed throughout the forest when the 1080 is applied. There will be a similar level of stoats eliminated through a secondary kill from them feeding on poisoned possum and rats. This will be fantastic news for birds and for all the vulnerable plants of Waitutu. It also means that for the next 3 years or so at least, we will all be contributing through our taxes to the effective "Saving of Waitutu's whole biodiversity" and not just resting on our laurels for the efforts made nearly 20 years ago when we all helped stop Waitutu being logged.

Mandy on "Kauri National Park"

Mandy — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 01:14:53 +0000

Finally, there's some movement on turning the area around Waipoua forest into a National Park. <a href="http://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/minister+welcomes+progress+kauri+national+park" rel="nofollow">http://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/minister+welcomes+progress+kauri+national+park</a> That'll bring the total to fifteen. This is something we've wanted since 1988. As Gordan Ell noted in his 1988 article 'Making a National Park is a slow process. It took 14 years for Whanganui, 12 years for Paparoa'...Lets hope we see some speedy progress. 1.. 1887 - Tongariro – 79,598 hectares 2. 1900 - Egmont – 33,543 hectares 3. 1929 - Arthur’s Pass – 114,394 hectares 4. 1942 - Abel Tasman – 22,541 hectares 5. 1952 - Fiordland – 1,257,000 hectares 6. 1953 - Mt Cook (Aorangi) – 70,728 hectares 7. 1954 - Te Urewera – 212,673 hectares 8. 1956 - Nelson Lakes – 101,753 hectares 9. 1960 - Westland – 117,607 hectares 10. 1964 - Mt Aspiring – 355,543 hectares 11. 1986 - Whanganui – 74,231 hectares 12. 1987 - Paparoa – 30,560 hectares 13. 1996 - Kahurangi – 452,000 hectares 14. 2001 - Rakiura (Stewart Island) - 163,000 hectares (approximately 85% of Stewart Island) Total area = 3,085,171 hectares