ranger – rnzngin Fifth Estate

October 17, 2024

Future focus critical for Doubtless Bay restoration | Conservation blog

Source: Department of Conservation

Erosion-prone banks, sedimented estuaries and waterways smothered with all the worst weeds. This is the confronting riverscape in Doubtless Bay on Northland’s east coast.

Scratch below the surface though and you find secretive native fish, kōura and insects thriving in little pockets, excellent swimming holes, hapū who care deeply for their awa and whenua, and a community that totally supports work to restore the rivers. It’s for their children, mokopuna and future generations.

Climate change effects in the bay

DOC’s Ngā Awa river ranger Maddy Jopling lives in the area and has seen issues with flooding, erosion and pollution after storms and heavy rain first-hand. She’s not alone.

Farmers have come to fear heavy rain warnings, knowing they will be faced with costs to move and repair fences. Slips destabilise plantation forests and add to fine sediment being carried downstream. Hapū have noticed the loss of prime cockle beds near the Taipā River mouth in the last 20 years. Lifestyle block owners are concerned about the rivers nibbling away at their land and its value diminishing.

“We’re already seeing climate change happening here with more intense weather and more frequent, damaging floods,” says Maddy.

“And sadly, there are other things we’ll have to contend with in the future, such as worse droughts, increased risk of wildfires and sea-level rise affecting land around the coast.”

Taipā River estuary where hapū have noticed increased sediment and falling numbers of cockles in the last 20 years. Image credit: Sarah Wilcox.

Healthy rivers need healthy land

Maddy’s job as river ranger for Doubtless Bay is to work with hapū and community to restore the biodiversity of the rivers from source to sea. The bay’s three rivers and their tributaries are treated as a single catchment, so there’s a big area involved.

“It’s critical to think about the future when planting or restoring habitat for native species in Doubtless Bay. Otherwise we won’t get the improvements in river health and biodiversity that we all want.”

A local hapū collective and many local landowners, groups and agencies are interested in or are already involved in restoration work. There is also support from industry representatives.

“The hapū collective wanted to know more about how climate change is likely to affect their rohe and what they could do now to build resilience. I’d also heard a lot of people talk about how the trees they’d put in had collapsed or fencing that had been washed away by floods.”

River ranger Maddy Jopling pointing out locations of the day’s site visits. Image credit: Sarah Wilcox.

Equipping the community with best practice revegetation information

Maddy says she saw an opportunity for DOC to support future work by providing best-practice, practical information to help advise and prioritise restoration planting in the catchment.

“We wanted to help people make the best decisions about what to plant where and how to tackle the really difficult issues.

“People also told me about what had worked for them in the past. So when we were setting up the project, we knew it was going to be important to visit a whole range of different places, especially those that are typical of many places here. It makes sense that local people know their land better than anyone.”

Drawing on ecology and mapping expertise

The project started with hapū, community members and DOC science and technical staff taking forest ecologist Dr Adam Forbes and mapping specialist Dr Brad Case on a tour of the catchment. The group visited more than 20 diverse sites in the in the Awapoko, Oruru and Oruaiti subcatchments over 3 days in late summer.

Brad Case presenting maps at a community seminar before the site visits. Image credit: Sarah Wilcox.

Based on this information and the site visits, the pair have created treatments for 12 different types of habitat in the catchment. The treatments outline possible changes to the vegetation to take climate change and human preferences into account, protect the coast and freshwater and restore wetlands.

Adam says visiting all the different sites in Doubtless Bay was really important.

Adam Forbes discussing revegetation options on a site visit. Image credit: Sarah Wilcox.

“I couldn’t have done this without going to the sites and talking to everyone. It enabled me to find out what’s out there and what the issues are.”

He has mined a range of databases to create the treatments, drawing on list of plants for the area, planting densities, flammability ratings and listed options to tackle some of the catchment’s big issues.

“I’ve included a list of species that are relevant for restoration in these catchments for both the pioneer stage and the enrichment stage, once the canopy has been established. There are some neat regionally specific endemic species included, which provide options for people.”

Adam has helpfully provided information on timing, risks, management, maintenance and avenues of support.

Some examples of revegetation treatments

One suggested treatment is for sites in the lower rivers where īnanga spawn. The areas are currently open and weedy with willows and poplars that can keel over into the river during floods. Adam suggests getting light native forest established, including species that īnanga favour for spawning.

Alligator weed, crack willow and ginger are among the profilic weeds established at many sites in the lower rivers. Image credit: Sarah Wilcox.

Another treatment is for steep hill country with a tendency to slip. These areas are currently in pasture but establishing native vegetation would stabilise the hillsides and reduce erosion downstream.

Mapping reveals hotspots for priority work

Brad has created a series of catchment maps that show different information about the catchment such as susceptibility to erosion and flooding. Overlaying the maps highlights hotspots where multiple issues overlap.

Adam has included many of these areas in his 12 revegetation treatments.

Map of the Doubtless Bay catchment showing vulnerability to climate change effects from lowest (green) to highest (red).

Maddy continues, “When I saw the catchment mapping, I was really excited about the fact that it will help us prioritise restoration as a community at a landscape scale.”

“When you’re going out and doing your restoration work, the scale can be quite overwhelming. There’s so much to do! But the way Brad’s done the modelling makes it really obvious where we need to focus a bit more effort from a climate change perspective.”

Sharing the findings

The report is now available from our website: Doubtless Bay rivers webpage (or download Doubtless Bay revegetation options)

“Adam and Brad have shared the report and discussed their findings with the community already. We’re really interested in feedback though and will continue to work with the community to put the information into practice.”

About Ngā Awa river restoration programme

Taking a whole catchment approach, Ngā Awa is working in partnership with iwi, hapū and communities to restore the biodiversity of 12 rivers from mountains to sea. The three rivers in Doubtless Bay are one of the restoration catchments.

The programme’s goal is to see river ecosystems and species thriving from mountains to sea, which enrich people’s lives. This is achieved by collaborating with others, co-designing and co-leading with iwi, hapū and whānau and recognising climate change. Planning the restoration work is underpinned by sound technical and scientific advice.

From left, Adam Forbes, Brad Case and Tiger Tukariri (Matarahurahu, Kenana) checking possible sites to visit in the upper Oruaiti catchment. Image credit: Sarah Wilcox.

August 29, 2024

Conservation at kākāpō pace | Conservation blog

Source: Department of Conservation

Conservation for the critically endangered kākāpō dates back 130 years to 1894, when Richard Henry first moved kākāpō to (then) predator free Resolution Island. Today, DOC’s Kākāpō Recovery Programme combines the efforts of iwi, partners, scientists, rangers, volunteers, and donors to continue to protect and restore this taonga species.

Our purpose is to restore the mauri (life force) of the once plentiful kākāpō. So far, efforts have been rewarded and during nearly 30 years of the programme the population has increased from 51 to the 247 kākāpō alive today. It’s a long game with challenges that can be grouped into three main categories; habitat, genetics, and disease.

Kākāpō Advocacy Ranger, Andie Gentle, looks into the first challenge – habitat, and what it takes to find new sites for the growing kākāpō population.

Te Hauturu-o-Toi/Little Barrier Island | Jake Osborne, DOC

Kākāpō pace

Aotearoa New Zealand’s much adored night parrots come with their own, unhurried pace. Longevity is on their side. The oldest kākāpō known today is at least 51 years old and it is estimated they could live between 60-90 years old. Many kākāpō reach their teens before they start successfully breeding and even then, they only breed once every 2-4 years.

Most of today’s 247 kākāpō live on two Southern predator-free islands which are reaching kākāpō-capacity. With each breeding season, there is an increasing need to find sites to support kākāpō populations into the future. To be suitable, sites need vast native forest, no predators (feral cats, rats and stoats) and the ability to stimulate successful breeding (more on that later).

Kākāpō-pace means each new site trial could take a decade or more to gather the information required. One long-term site trial that has recently been completed was on Te Hauturu-o-Toi/Little Barrier Island.

Kākāpō Lisa on Hauturu in 2018 | Jake Osborne, DOC

Hauturu & kākāpō

There are only two pest-free islands in New Zealand large enough to sustain a population of kākāpō that are certainly beyond the swimming distance of rats and stoats. One of them, Whenua Hou/Codfish Island, is a successful breeding home to a population of nearly 100 kākāpō. The other is Te Hauturu-o-Toi/Little Barrier Island.

Hauturu is a sanctuary 80km north-east of Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland. It was New Zealand’s first nature reserve and is now a refuge for hundreds of rare and endangered plants, birds, and animals.

Te Hauturu-o-Toi/Little Barrier Island | Jake Osborne, DOC

Kākāpō were first translocated to Hauturu in 1982. At the time, there were just 29 known kākāpō and it had become clear that they were being predated by cats on Rakiura/Stewart Island. With the presence of kiore (the Pacific rat) but no feral cats, Hauturu was identified as a safer haven. By the end of 1982, 21 kākāpō had been relocated there. Intensive management and supplementary feeding programmes began seven years later after no breeding had occurred on the island.

Breeding triggers

The only known trigger to stimulate kākāpō breeding today is the mast of the rimu tree. This happens once every 2-4 years on the Southern islands. We can predict a mast in advance by comparing seasonal temperatures year-on-year and counting fruit tips.

To best support the critically endangered kākāpō we supplementary feed them ahead of a breeding season to help them reach top breeding condition. Additional feeding for chick rearing is also required if the mast was big enough to stimulate breeding but didn’t result in enough fruit to sustain chick rearing (which may occur after storms or extreme weather events or if the fruit doesn’t ripen).

Despite the absence of rimu on Hauturu, several breeding attempts were made there in the 1990’s and two chicks were raised with supplementary feeding support. It was the kauri tree that was thought to be the most likely trigger to stimulate kākāpō breeding on the island. Regardless, this was proof that, with support, kākāpō could thrive on Hauturu.

There was just one big problem. The island’s terrain is much more extreme than the Southern islands, making this level of hands-on management logistically challenging.

The rugged terrain of Hauturu, being navigated by DOC rangers and Auckland Zoo team members as they carry out work with kākāpō on the island | DOC.

By 1999 more kākāpō had been discovered on Rakiura and the total population numbered 63. All kākāpō were returned South to help diversify the precious breeding populations that were now active on Whenua Hou and Maud Island. Following the removal of kākāpō, kiore were eradicated from Hauturu and the sanctuary gained pest-free status in 2004.

The trial

With supplementary feeding successful but not feasible on Hauturu, the next step was to learn if kākāpō could breed and raise chicks there without support. In 2012, eight of the total 125 kākāpō at the time were carefully selected by their genetic profiles and breeding history to help us find out. Over the coming years another nine joined the trial.

Seven of this cohort had been on Hauturu before. Notably, all seven returned to their old home ranges on the island within a couple of weeks of arriving back. Two of the returning birds were super-breeders Blades and Flossie, who had each produced the most offspring by a male and female respectively at the time.

Kākāpō Rangers Petrus and Bryony completing a transmitter change and health check on 27-year-old Tiwai on Hauturu, 2022 | DOC

What did we learn?

Unfortunately, the next decade saw limited breeding success on the island. In 2014 Heather was the only female to nest. She only hatched one of three fertile eggs herself and that chick needed support as, by ten days old, it was starving. It was the same poor result in 2016 when Heather and Lisa nested and the only chick to hatch also required support due to lack of food. Lisa nested again in 2021, but her two eggs were infertile.

During the trial period of 12 years, the kauri tree did not produce a heavy crop of seeds as it had in the past. Along with the poor nesting outcomes, this confirmed that while Hauturu is safe for kākāpō, they are unlikely to be productive on the island without supplementary feeding.

Heather’s 2014 chick Mahli pictured while receiving care at Auckland Zoo vet hospital | DOC

Wrapping up the trial

In 2023 it was decided that the kākāpō on Hauturu would be more valuable back on the Southern breeding islands, and the plan is for all to be returned by the end of this year.

It may not be the last time kākāpō live amongst the Hauturu forest, so remnant of primeval New Zealand. Given the long lifespan of kākāpō and the size and pest-free status of Hauturu, the island could play a role in the future security of the population until other safe breeding sites become available.

For now, the island has helped provide valuable data and insights to help manage kākāpō conservation for decades to come.

Left: DOC Ranger Richard Walle. Middle: Jasmine from Auckland Zoo carrying kākāpō before the first transfer off Hauturu, 2023. Right: DOC Ranger Dani completing a transmitter change and health check on Flossie in 2023. All photos by DOC.

It takes a village

DOC’s Kākāpō Recovery team worked closely with iwi (tribe) representatives from Ngāi Tahu and the Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust to undertake the trial and the required transfers of the manu between rohe.

Kākāpō are a taonga species to Ngāi Tahu, the principal Māori iwi of southern New Zealand. It is of great significance to iwi when the care and protection of a taonga is transferred. During the Hauturu trial local mana whenua Ngāti Manuhiri took on kaitiaki responsibilities of the manu through the tikanga of whāngai (the concept of fostering).

This trial was undertaken in association with Auckland Zoo Conservation Fund with practical assistance from Auckland Zoo staff and its vet hospital, the New Zealand Centre for Conservation Medicine. It was also supported by Kākāpō Recovery Programme’s National Partner Meridian Energy and DOC’s National Partner Air New Zealand.

Ngāti Manuhiri and Ngāi Tahu representatives with DOC team members during (left) the first transfer from Hauturu to Fiordland in July 2023, and (right) the second transfer in August 2024. The final cohort of remaining monitored kākāpō on Hauturu will return later this year | DOC.

Moving forward to step back

Two new site trials are underway at Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari in Waikato and Coal Island/Te Puka-Hereka in Fiordland, and there are more to come. Like at Hauturu, it will be years before results are known, but it is hoped that more breeding triggers could be discovered along the way.

The last three breeding seasons have been bumper on the Southern islands. The next breeding season is predicted to be 2026 and with more than 80 breeding-aged females, it could be the biggest yet.

Rakiura will be a game changer for kākāpō when it becomes predator free. From there, the goal will be to one day return kākāpō to all their natural ranges throughout New Zealand. Of course, these visions will rely on the success of the country’s predator free movements.

We’ve come a long way since 1894; just imagine Aotearoa after another 130 years of care and protection. Will kākāpō be roaming safe and free among our great-grandchildren?

Anything is possible, even when each day goes at kākāpō-pace.

Kākāpō Lisa on Hauturu in 2020 | Jake Osborne, DOC

Get involved

Together with our Treaty Partner Ngāi Tahu and National Partner Meridian Energy we are grateful for the ongoing commitment from our supporters. There are lots of ways you can help ensure a brighter future for kākāpō.

Educate:

Engage:

Support:

July 23, 2024

Rats snapped devouring eggs of threatened fish | Conservation blog

Source: Department of Conservation

Written by Sarah Wilcox.

The shock find came only days after the discovery of a cluster of shortjaw kōkopu eggs in the first ever documented ‘nest’ from Northland.

Freshwater ranger Fern Donovan found the eggs after hours of intensive searching along the banks of a tributary of the Waipoua River. She set up a trail cam on the nest site and checked it daily.

Left: Fern in her waders, with a waterfall the fish travel up to get to the spawning areas | Sarah Wilcox, DOC. Top right: Shortjaw kōkopu nest site | Fern Donovan, DOC. Bottom right: Translucent shortjaw kōkopu eggs on the leaves and rocks beside the stream | Fern Donovan, DOC.

“Each day there were less and less eggs – I assumed they were getting washed away by rain, but when I saw the video my heart sunk, I felt really, sad as I’d spent so much time studying the fish and got to really care about them.”

She describes the eggs as “protein pearls” that would be particularly attractive to the rodents in autumn, with high rat numbers and food supplies starting to dwindle with cooler temperatures.

The rat (or rats) was filmed returning multiple times over several nights to clean out the nest. Within 10 days the only eggs left were unviable or mouldy, and clearly no longer appetising.

Fern’s trail camera captured a rat eating the shortjaw kōkopu eggs | DOC.

A partnership with Te Iwi o Te Roroa

The rohe of Te Roroa is situated on the Kauri Coast and includes the Waipoua Forest, home of Tane Mahuta. Taoho Patuawa, science advisor for the iwi, has been closely involved with the shortjaw research project.

“With the discovery of the eggs has come the discovery of the problem. It’s a clear demonstration of the impact that pests are having on our taonga species. The work that’s been done to get to the discovery has been fantastic, but it highlights the real struggles facing the largely unheralded species.”

Taoho points out that even in a forest with good habitat, there are no guarantees of successful breeding.

“The species is clearly at-risk at this critical part of their lifecycle because of the ongoing pressures we have from pests.”

A pool in Fern’s study stream | Fern Donovan, DOC

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A shortjaw kōkopu | DOC

DOC and Te Roroa, along with other organisations, have been working together to restore the Waipoua River from mountains to sea for more than 5 years.

“We’re walking this journey together. There’s a lot to do, but it’s the good people who make the relationship successful. We’re working with nature for the betterment of our people and the landscapes we live and work in.”

Bait stations deployed for autumn 2024

Video footage of the rat predation provided evidence for Te Roroa and DOC to put intensive predator control in place ahead of this year’s spawning season.

“We were able to move swiftly to put in a line of bait stations 50 metres apart along the stream margins, as well as another line further back,” says Fern.

The bait stations are topped up regularly so they never run out.

Triangles marking the bait line | Tom Donovan

A rat caught on one of Fern’s trail cameras | DOC

“It’s a big forest so we’re assuming there will be constant re-invasion into the area. Especially at this time of year when rodent numbers are peaking.”

Tracking tunnels show that the strategy is working, with June 2024 results showing just 3% of the tunnels in the treatment area were visited by rats but 96% visited in the non-treatment area. At a control site (with no bait stations) in an adjacent area, shortjaw nests have been predated by rats.

2024 results looking promising

The 2024 breeding season at Fern’s study site got off to a great start.

“I’ve found three nests so far. The trail cam footage picked up rat predation at one nest but not all the eggs have been eaten – fingers crossed some of them make it. Hopefully they are finding the bait blocks more tasty!”

Shortjaw kōkopu eggs on leaves near the stream | Fern Donovan, DOC

She is also pleased to report that some of the eggs developed tiny black eyes.

“I’ve never seen that before – last year the eggs were all eaten before that stage. I’ve also set up drift nets in the stream so I am hopeful that we might catch some larvae as they’re washed downstream on their way to the sea.”

Fern is waiting for the next big flood to wet the eggs and trigger hatching.

A story that remains incomplete

Taoho says the innovative and dedicated work at-place has led to some pretty immediate conservation strategies.

“What Fern’s found is a neat piece of the puzzle, but the story is incomplete. We don’t know yet what success looks like for this species or what numbers should be present in the catchment.”

“I’m looking forward to seeing what we achieve this year and beyond. It’s good to have such a concentrated effort in our forest. What we’re finding out here will be really valuable for protecting this taonga species both here and in other parts of Aotearoa, and ensuring it can thrive.”

Fern’s story

Fern grew up as a ‘bush baby’ in Hokianga and spent a summer during her undergrad study working for her family business, Donovan Ecological Management.

“We surveyed the reaches of the Waipoua River looking for different fish species as part of DOC’s restoration work. It was an incredible opportunity to visit some of the most beautiful and remote places in the catchment.”

Fern (centre) with her parents Tom and Karina Donovan, getting ready for an evening studying the threatened fish | Sarah Wilcox, DOC

“Shortjaw kōkopu were the fish we saw least frequently. I didn’t have to dig too deep to see there was a whole lot that’s not known about them. I spoke to the DOC scientists who helped me identify the most important knowledge gaps, and these formed the basis of my Master’s research project at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington.”

She intensively researched the population of shortjaw kōkopu in the Waipoua River and completed her thesis in early 2024. Fern was appointed to DOC as a freshwater ranger in September 2023.

Studying the nocturnal fish population | Sarah Wilcox, DOC

A shortjaw kōkopu at the study site | Sarah Wilcox, DOC

The challenges of studying a rare, nocturnal fish

Shortjaw kōkopu are only found in Aotearoa New Zealand and are the rarest of six species of native fish caught as whitebait. Their conservation status is Threatened – Nationally Vulnerable. Until Fern’s discovery, spawning sites for this species had only ever been observed in Taranaki.

“The fish lay their eggs in moss or leaf litter just out of the water during a flood or high-water event. The eggs sit on the bank for at least 2–3 weeks to develop into larvae and are then carried downstream on the next big rain event. It’s the most bizarre life history with so much room for failure – the eggs could so easily dry out or be washed away before they’ve developed!”

Fern describes the searching as literally looking for a needle in a haystack.

“I go out when the water’s dropped and look above the waterline but below the wetted edge. I use a headtorch even in the daytime as the eggs are so tiny and hard to see – only 1-2 mm in diameter. To me they are like perfect pearls.”

Shortjaw kōkopu ‘nests’ are simply a collection of tiny translucent eggs | Fern Donovan, DOC.

“The searching is very intensive and quite soul-destroying. There are so many rocky crevices and patches of leaves to look at. You can only spend about 3–4 hours at a time doing it because it’s so intense. But when you do find the eggs, they’re really obvious – hundreds of eggs sitting there. It’s the most amazing feeling!”

Fern takes her cue to start looking for eggs by monitoring the adult fish in the stream. Because they’re nocturnal, the work starts 30 minutes after sunset and finish after midnight in the summer.

“We’ve been studying the fish here for a couple of years and we see the females getting heavier in autumn as their bellies become full of ripe eggs. If they suddenly lose weight and look skinny again, you know they’ve laid eggs, so that’s the time to go out looking.”

A shortjaw kōkopu from Fern’s study site | Fern Donovan, DOC

A shortjaw kōkopu being measured | Fern Donovan, DOC

When nests are found, Fern takes 4–8 eggs from each site for DNA analysis to confirm their identity. She also records detailed information about the sites such as the location, slope, canopy cover and what material they were laid in.

“This is crucial information to inform our work to secure the species both in the Waipoua River and other catchments.”

More information:

This project is part of DOC’s Ngā Ika e Heke freshwater migratory fish workstream, securing populations of shortjaw kōkopu, īnanga, longfin eel/tuna and lamprey across Aotearoa New Zealand.

The Waipoua River is also in DOC’s Ngā Awa river restoration programme, which is working in partnership with others to restore the biodiversity of 14 rivers from mountains to sea.

May 16, 2024

Celebrating 20 years of Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest island eradication of predators – Part 2 | Conservation blog

Source: Department of Conservation

What the next 20 years of predator free islands hold.

In this two-part series, we’re celebrating 20 years of Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest predator free project to-date. Looking to the future, we explore what the next 20 years of restoring New Zealand’s wild and precious islands may hold. Learn how artificial intelligence, the history of phones, and feral pigs all connect.

Written by Janel Hull.

20 years ago, DOC declared the seemingly impossible operation to make Campbell Island predator free a resounding success.

The techniques that DOC staff on Campbell Island/Motu Ihupuku pioneered helped propel the world into exponentially scaling up eradications of bigger and bigger islands. DOC’s Predator Free 2050 Senior Manager, Brent Beaven, shares how Campbell Island changed the game. “Campbell Island helped unlock a step change in what we thought was possible.”

DOC Predator Free 2050 Senior Manager, Brent Beaven, translocating a rare native tīeke (South Island saddleback) | Photo: Peta Carey

Now, there have been over 1,000 island eradications in the world. And New Zealand is responsible for the lion’s share.

Thanks to these predator free breakthroughs, islands across the world are covered in screeching penguins, soaring albatross, and chubby sea lions. We were able to save precious native plants and animals from the brink of extinction.

King penguin colony on predator free Macquarie Island | Photo: Janel Hull

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Sea lion pups on predator free Enderby Island | Photo: Jack Mace

But momentum in creating larger predator free islands has unfortunately waned. Brent notes, “The island eradication tools and techniques we use now have allowed us to achieve some incredible things. But, to scale up to larger and more island eradications, we need innovation.”

Technology and techniques haven’t changed much since the 2001 Campbell Island operation. Island eradications in 2023 use similar GPS, helicopters, and techniques. Which is surprising considering that in 2001 the first ipod was released, we had just survived Y2K, and fax machines and landlines reigned supreme. These predator eradication techniques are tried and true and get the job done. But the tools aren’t effective and efficient for eradicating predators from very large islands or the mainland of Aotearoa.

To tackle restoring larger islands and the mainland, we need new tools, techniques, and technology. We need investment to shift from reliable landlines to transformative smart phones.

Predator Free 2050 has focused government investment into this innovation. Since the goal was announced in 2016, programmes like DOC’s ‘Tools to Market‘ and Predator Free 2050 Ltd.’s ‘Products to Projects’ have invested in possible game changers like biodegradable aerial rat traps, AI cameras and image recognition, smart detection devices, pest-specific toxins, and research to map predator genomes to understand their unique weaknesses and biology. In just the first five years of Predator Free 2050, government has invested $43 million into tools, research, and software for predator eradication.

Biodegradable aerial rat traps | Photo: Goodnature

Zero Invasive Predators (ZIP) innovation and operations team talk through a prototype | Photo: Robyn Janes

It’s unlikely research will uncover just one “silver bullet” for eradicating introduced predators. But with the help of investment and new tools and technology, Aotearoa could accelerate efforts to restoring precious islands and our mainland.

Predator Free 2050 has also helped launch DOC’s National Eradication Team (NET). This team is working on a strategy for eradicating predators from all of New Zealand’s uninhabited off-shore islands. They’re leaders in predator eradication – spearheading strategy, testing new techniques, and advising on island eradication projects both in Aotearoa and around the world.

Some members of the National Eradication Team | Photo: Finlay Cox

DOC’s eradication experts have already achieved great things for people and wildlife. In 2018, a DOC team led the charge to successfully eradicate mice from Antipodes island, protecting wildlife like wandering albatross.

They’re also sharing their knowledge and expertise abroad. In 2023, they led a rat eradication on Palmerston Atoll in the Cook Islands with our neighbours in the Pacific who were struggling with rats destroying food and threatening their community’s health.

National Eradication Team member supporting Palmerston Atoll community members with trail cameras and rat surveys | Photo: Em Oyston

With the leadership of DOC and investment in tools and techniques, Aotearoa is taking strides to accelerate island conservation.

And these experts have their eyes set on the next big island restoration – Maukahuka Auckland Island.

Maukahuka/Auckland Island is a stronghold of remarkable plants and animals. As a subantarctic nature reserve and World Heritage site, it is home to some of the world’s rarest animals like the Gibson’s albatross, southern right-whales, New Zealand sea lions and hoiho (yellow-eyed penguin).

The island supports over 500 native plants and animals with more than 100 found nowhere else in the world. The wild landscape has blushing rātā forests and windswept clusters of bright megaherbs. Maukahuka is of great cultural and spiritual significance to Ngāi Tahu, with a long history of Polynesian expeditions to the islands to gather food and settle.

Megaherb carpets on neighbouring predator free Enderby Island | Photo: James Ware

Hoiho/yellow-eyed penguins | Photo: Rachael Sagar

Sadly, over the last 200 years, populations of feral pigs, feral cats, and mice have inflicted severe harm. Now, of the 39 native bird species that were once on the island, 28 are either gone or remain in very small numbers. Large swaths of rātā forests have disturbed soils and stunted understories. Megaherbs are dwindling. Without action, plants and animals will continue to disappear.

Feral pigs in a white-capped albatross colony on Auckland Island | Photo: Paul Sagar

At about four times the size of Campbell Island, achieving a predator free Auckland Island would be a massive undertaking. It would be New Zealand’s largest predator free island and the final step to finally restore all of New Zealand’s subantarctic islands.

In 2021, the National Eradication Team spent three years investigating whether it was possible to eradicate pigs, mice and feral cats from Auckland Island. They concluded that making Auckland Island predator free would be achievable, worthwhile, and sustainable in the long run.

But first, the project would need about $9.75 million per year over 8 years to tackle the challenge. Innovation in image processing and targeted baits has steadily reduced the time and cost. But it would still require unprecedented support and investment.

Looking to the future, New Zealand could make even bigger strides in conservation on islands like Auckland Island. Brent reflects, “All of our progress on previous islands helped build the confidence to launch Predator Free 2050. We’re now seriously eyeing up another step change in possibility with Maukahuka Auckland Island.”

Predator Free 2050 is helping tackle the challenge of innovating new tools and technology, spearheading a strategy for restoring all islands, and growing new levels of community support and investment for eradicating pests.

The next 20 years could be promising for predator free islands. But it’ll be a challenge. Brent notes, “We’ll need to innovate, test our limits and be prepared to take a bit of risk as we step into the unknown.”

Read Part 1 of the blog series here.

May 9, 2024

Celebrating 20 years of Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest island eradication of predators – Part 1 | Conservation blog

Source: Department of Conservation

We’re celebrating 20 years of Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest predator free project to-date. Hear from a former DOC ranger who experienced the world first rat eradication as he shares the story of mysterious footprints, an explosion of wētā, and why making subantarctic islands predator-free is so important.

Written by Janel Hull.

Campbell Island, Motu Ihupuku is a thriving wildlife stronghold and a testament to Aotearoa New Zealand’s world-leadership in conservation. But it’s tucked away in a surprising location, 700 kilometres south of Aotearoa New Zealand’s South Island in the subantarctic islands.

This island is a World Heritage Site and nature reserve that is renowned for the overwhelming volume of rare plants and animals it supports. The island is home to six species of albatross – including one that lives nowhere else in the world.

The northern cliffs are blanketed in densely packed nests of Campbell Island albatross and thick with weaving swarms of seabirds. It’s a stunning sight to see… just try not to imagine the strong smell.

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Campbell Island albatross breeding colony | Photo: Tui De Roy

A southern royal albatross on its nest | Photo: Peter J Moore

Fields of lilac and sunshine megaherbs (giant wildflowers) stretch in an endless carpet across the upper parts of the island, reaching up to the knees and hips of visitors. The fields are interrupted with dots of white – nests of southern royal albatross/toroa – and brown – lounging New Zealand sea lions/pakake. Sometimes, the sea lions let off an unsettling nearby roar from somewhere in the tall grass.

Megaherb field of Campbell Island daisy (Pheurophyllum speciosum) | Photo: Stephen Jaquiery

But 20 years ago, Campbell Island was a completely different story. For nearly 200 years, introduced rats had run rampant on the island. These predators decimated megaherbs, birds, and nests in their wake. Campbell Island had achieved another world first for wildlife volume. But this time, the island had the highest density of Norway rats in the world.

This all changed in 2001 when DOC began a world-first operation to eradicate rats from the 11,300-hectare Campbell Island. Former DOC Ranger Lindsay Wilson recalls “when we were doing Campbell, there was a huge amount of scepticism that it would work. It was the largest rat eradication in the world.”

Former DOC ranger Lindsay Wilson on Campbell Island | Photo: Supplied

The team boldly aimed to eradicate rats from an island about six times bigger than any island attempted before. This was attempting “the impossible”.

DOC sent a team of 19 including eradication experts, biologists, helicopter pilots, a medic, and a cook to live on the island for 3 months.

Lindsay was a key part of the team. To save native species from extinction, they were tasked with meticulously distributing rat toxin across every corner of the island. They used helicopters and recently developed GPS technology to map the precise spread of bait.

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The rat eradication team review helicopter maps of the island back at their hut | Photo: Pete Tyree

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Map showing areas allocated for helicopter flight paths | Photo: Pete Tyree

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Team member looking at helicopter bait flight paths | Photo: Pete Tyree

A typical day for Lindsay involved being flown out to a helicopter loading site at sunrise, filling buckets with toxin, and reloading until sunset. (Although sometimes a typical day involved waiting for the wind to stop blowing). In the evenings, the crew would head back to their hut and pour over GPS tracks to determine paths for the next day. Their long hours were driven by a single purpose – bring thriving wildlife back to the island.

All work was planned around the wet, windy, and unpredictable weather of the subantarctic islands. Operations require fine and calm weather for flying and to ensure bait is in tip top shape. A typical day was drizzly, blustering with 30-40 knot winds, and was about 5 degrees Celsius with heavy grey clouds. In fact, rain falls on Campbell Island an average of 325 days per year!

Lindsay chuckles, “the weather was so bad, it was kind of cool. You know? I remember the first time after 10 days the sun came out. Suddenly it’s like everything went from black and white to colour.”

With a combination of surprisingly dry weather and the team’s hard work, the operation finished in just 6 weeks.

Bait loading during the Campbell Island eradication | Photo: Pete Tyree

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The base that housed DOC’s rat eradication team | Photo: DOC

Two years later, Lindsay and the team returned to the island to monitor whether the world-first eradication was successful. The team landed with bated breath.

“Right after we landed on the first night, we went outside and shone the torch around and here’s all these wētā under the bushes that we hadn’t seen previously. It was really pronounced – there were wētā everywhere.”

For two months, the team hiked up and down the steep island checking lines of traps to look for signs of any remaining rats. Instead, they found recovering megaherbs, an explosion of the songbird pipits, and a mysterious footprint.

“The icing on the cake was one of the team found small footprints in the mud at Six Foot Lake.” They thought it could be the endemic subantarctic snipe, previously wiped out from the island.

“We could hardly believe it really. They didn’t have a camera with them, and we didn’t have cell phones in those days. They did a very careful sketch and got measurements of the footprints.” Once they returned to the hut, they radioed the snipe expert and confirmed their finding.

Drawing of subantarctic snipe footprints by bird expert Colin Miskelly

A subantarctic snipe chick found by researchers on Campbell Island in 2004 | Photo: Colin Miskelly

The snipe were back home, at last. These hearty birds had managed to reintroduce themselves from a tiny rock stack near the island.

Lindsay remembers that the team had dreamed of one-day returning snipe to Campbell Island. “We thought we’d have to go and physically capture snipe, captive rear them, and maybe in 10-20 years we could reintroduce them. But instead, within two years, they were back.”

An adult subantarctic snipe on Campbell Island | Photo: Brent Beaven

Campbell Island was officially declared free of rats in May 2003, achieving the world’s largest rat eradication at the time and our country’s largest island eradication to date.

But New Zealand’s legacy of successful eradications doesn’t end there. From the 1980s to the 2010s, we were able to increase the size of island eradications. They went from 200 hectares, to 10,000 hectares, to over 100,000 hectares. “In just 30 years, the rate of possibility hugely increased”.

The techniques that DOC staff on Campbell Island pioneered helped propel the world into exponentially scaling up island eradications of bigger and bigger islands. Now, there have been over 110+ successful island eradications in New Zealand and around 1,000 successful eradications in the world. And New Zealand is responsible for the lion’s share.

Islands across the world are covered in screeching penguins, soaring albatross, and chubby sea lions thanks to predator free action.

Sea lion pups on predator free Enderby Island | Photo: Jack Mace

Breeding colony of royal penguins on predator free Macquarie Island | Photo: Creative Commons

Read part two to learn what’s to come for the next 20 years of island restoration. We explore futuristic technology, how New Zealand takes Predator Free 2050 knowledge around the world, and what it’ll take to make New Zealand’s final subantarctic island predator free.

November 23, 2023

Ranger reflections from a week at Rotomairewhenua | Conservation blog

Source: Department of Conservation

Last summer Sam Fisher spent a week in one of the most beautiful places in Aotearoa. Sam chatted to us about the sacred lakes in Nelson Lakes National Park and the latest measures to keep them safe from a new, invisible threat.

Rotomairewhenua / Blue Lake, Nelson Lakes National Park | Sam Fisher, DOC

I was previously working in IT but switched to conservation. Early midlife crisis career change you ask? Something like that. I completed the ranger training programme earlier this year and was lucky enough to have my summer placement with the Nelson Lakes team.

As part of my placement, I got to be hut warden at Blue Lake Hut for a week.

On the way up to Rotomairewhenua / Blue Lake | Sam Fisher

Yeah, it’s a magic spot

Rotomairewhenua / Blue Lake is nestled amongst the 2,000m peaks of the Nelson Lakes National Park, sitting at about 1,200m above sea level. It takes 2 days to get there, a tramp that takes you through vast valleys and over high mountain passes. It’s a journey into the remote heart of the park.

Look at the photos and see how stunning it is there! Rotomairewhenua has the clearest freshwater in the world with a visibility of around 70 metres underwater. Incredible.

The pristine water of Rotomariewhenua / Blue Lake, Nelson Lakes National Park | Sam Fisher, DOC

I was super fortunate with the weather when I was up there. It’s such a beautiful backdrop and you get some amazing reflections off the lake.

The bonus of being the warden is that you get the place to yourself for a good chunk of the day (after the cleaning is done of course!), while the trampers are moving through. Standing up there on a clear day, it’s something else to see. Everything is blue – blue sky and blue lake on a bluebird day.

Sam’s obligatory tramping selfie, high above Rotomariewhenua / Blue Lake | Sam Fisher, DOC

The birds are stunning too – you’ve got rifleman hanging out all around around the lake. You can just sit back and listen to them and see if you can see them. They’re one of my favourite birds to spot because they’re always around there.

Life in the past lane

I’ve heard stories from older volunteers who spent time at Blue Lake Hut decades ago, that they used to dare each other to get in the lake because it’s so numbingly cold! Others used to use it and Rotopōhueroa / Lake Constance for washing or as a water supply.

I think people were hanging on to those memories, but today we know it’s not appropriate to do that. Times have changed, as have our practices.

We’ve wised up to respecting the culture

The lakes are now called by their original names on maps. So we have Rotomairewhenua / Blue Lake and Rotopōhueroa / Lake Constance on all the maps. This acknowledges the long history and high cultural significance that they have for Māori, particularly Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō iwi.

The lakes are tapu (sacred) and are not to be touched. This is to uphold their mauri (life force) and purity.

We show respect for the lakes and for the iwi by never touching the water. That means no swimming, filling drink bottles or washing clothes.

Rotopōhueroa / Lake Constance | Sam Fisher

Staying out of the water keeps these special lakes safe

The other message I tried to get across in my hut talks was about the serious threat of invasive algae getting into these lakes. Two microscopic algae – lindavia and didymo – are already present down the hill in Lakes Rotoiti, Rotoroa and Tennyson.

Lindavia produces lake snow, a really ugly snot-like slime that hangs below the surface of the water. Didymo coats rocks with a gross white material that looks like wet toilet paper. They would both really stuff up the lakes and headwaters of the rivers.

It could only take one person to wander into the lake with wet boots or togs on – even if they’d swum in Lake Rotoiti a few days ago. Or splash a drop of contaminated water from their drink bottle. That one innocent action could infect the lakes with invasive algae and spoil them forever.

Once the algae are there, there’s no way to get rid of them – no going back. It would destroy the visual and cultural significance and go against everything we’ve agreed to do in terms of protecting the environment for everyone, including Māori.

Talking to trampers and Te Araroa walkers, it seemed like the two-pronged approach to caring for the lakes – the cultural significance and the biosecurity – was well received and respected.

Alternative water available – you can cool off in the stream

Getting up to Blue Lake Hut is a big walk for sure. As a tramper I know it’s really, really nice to be able to have a refreshing dip at the end of the day.

Because you can’t swim in the lake, we’ve provided an alternative.

I made a track down to a stream where people can go. It’s just 5 minutes away and is all signposted before you get to the hut. It’s freezing cold but a great option on a hot day. The stream does turn into a pretty steep river just downstream, so we ask people to take a bit of care.

There are also those wet days when the hut is full of dripping wet gear and the fire’s going – then it’s more like a free sauna in there!

One of the beautiful rivers of the Nelson Lakes National Park | Sam Fisher

New cleaning stations

This summer we’re putting in cleaning stations near the main access points at Coldwater, Lakehead and Sabine Huts. It’s an extra step to reduce the chance of lindavia and didymo getting into our pristine rivers and alpine lakes.

As I said, those nasties have already got into the bigger, more accessible lakes – Rotoiti, Rotoroa and Tennyson. Lindavia arrived about 4 years ago so we’ve really had to tighten up our biosecurity to keep it out of the rest of the park.

The cleaning stations are pretty simple. There’s a tank with pre-made 10% detergent solution, a sink and a bucket underneath to hold the used solution. I’ve literally just finished painting them – DOC green of course!

The new cleaning stations under construction. These will help to prevent the spread of Lindavia into the alpine lakes | DOC

Everyone needs to clean all their gear that’s wet or damp from any river or lake water. So it’s stop, soak and wait for 10 minutes. This is the Check, Clean, Dry method that people have probably heard of, and yeah, it does work to kill those microscopic algae.

Most people know how important it is to use the cleaning stations in the upper North Island to protect kauri, so I think people will embrace this way of protecting our lakes too.

You just need to allow ten extra minutes to do the right thing. The cleaning stations are all near huts where people often stop to make a cuppa or have a snack anyway, so we’re anticipating that it won’t be much of a hassle.

For now and for the future

We’ve got a totally unique environment with the lakes and mountains up there. It’s got to be for everyone forever, not just for me today.

I sometimes ask people how they’d want to leave it for their kids, and their kid’s kids. I don’t have any kids (keeping well clear of that!) but do have plenty of nieces and nephews. I’d hate for them to come here and not get to see the same pristine environment I got to see.

So finally, on behalf of the team here at Nelson Lakes, we really welcome you to come and experience this amazing part of the world. And we trust that you’ll follow our simple rules to keep it that way for everyone who comes after us.

October 13, 2023

The Rime of the Thirtysomething Mariner | Conservation blog

Source: Department of Conservation

By Brian McDonald

Oh, hey buddy, how’re you doing? Enjoying the wedding? Wait up, let me tell you a story.

One of our Kapiti-Wellington team lives near me and offered me a lift home. As I’m not a huge fan of my evening commute, I gratefully accepted. Always take a lift from a ranger. I can’t stress this enough; you end up having a weird time more often than not.

Mel, who was on wildlife standby for the week, said she’d had a call about an injured albatross in the car park of a care home in Silverstream, Upper Hutt (called in by Tom who was working there for the day), and did I want to come along. I said that wasn’t a sentence I’d ever expected to hear, but yes I absolutely did want to come along.

And so, dear reader, I went along.

Bounty Islands

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Salvin’s albatross in their ‘happy place’ on the subantarctic Bounty Islands. Photo: Jo Hissock

We stopped off at Silverstream New World for a cardboard box big enough to hold a medium-sized albatross. This request deeply confused the store worker until he realised we were DOC, and to his credit he came back with a good sized box. Well done for rising to the occasion mate; I hope that was the weirdest thing someone said to you that day.

In Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s epic poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, the eponymous Mariner kills the bird despite its leading the crew to safety, bringing unending stillness to the sea and stranding their ship. As penance, his crewmates make him wear the corpse of the dead bird (disclaimer: please do not attempt to wear or make others wear an albatross). When I thought an albatross was the size of a big seagull, this seemed weird but bearable and hey, it was the 1800s.

Friends, after getting up close and personal with an upset albatross, I can tell you it’d have to be one heck of a gull.

Arriving at Silverstream aged care home, I was confronted by the reality of an albatross. Mollymawk wingspans are between 1.8m and 2.5m, so that’s a big seagull. This one wasn’t huge, and couldn’t flap much due to the wing injury, but it was still pretty sizeable.

Speaking of, the wing was sticking up at an abrupt angle, and can’t have been fun for the bird. Which led to the main task of the day, and the associated conundrum; how the heck do we get Flappy Bird XL here into the Twisties box so kindly donated by the good folk at the New World?

Once again, a sentence I never expected to say.

The bird was suspicious, and rightly so

After lining the box with towels, Mel tasked me with distracting the bird’s powerful beak with another rolled-up towel, while she used yet another towel to secure it. Douglas Adams’ famous line from The HitchHiker’s Guide to the Galaxy that a towel is “about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have” clearly applies to rangers too! This part was, however, terrifying; the albatross beak is long, large, and easily capable of severing a digit. I feared this giant seabird, and quite like having all my fingers attached to my skinny hand, not to mention that it was Mel wearing the only set of gloves and holding the net.

Once netted, our feathered friend was not pleased, but didn’t protest too much and we (mostly Mel) wrangled around and into the box. Immediately, he started to chew his way out, alarmingly close to my fingers. Again, I’m not keen on losing a thumb to an angry seabird, so we reinforced the cardboard with a plastic tub that thankfully fit nice and snug, carefully maneuvered the whole apparatus into the car, and drove to The Nest in rush hour traffic.

The Nest Te Kōhanga is Wellington Zoo’s animal hospital and centre for native wildlife; when a large native animal is injured in and around the capital, this is where DOC brings them. The team at The Nest treat hundreds of sick and injured native wildlife patients each year, and it’s a huge contribution to saving animals in the wild.

The traffic wasn’t great; this was rush hour in the CBD now, and we sat in the car, as idle as a painted car upon a painted SH1. Traffic, traffic, everywhere, as the bird rustled in the back. Traffic, traffic, everywhere, but we were soon back on track.

The box we contained the mollymawk in. That’s what the beak did

The staff at The Nest handled the bird much more assertively and professionally than I did, probably because they’re trained wildlife vets and not a comms advisor who once did a couple of modules in ecology. This was not their first albatross rodeo; one vet held our feathered casualty securely while another gave some (presumably welcome) painkillers. Weighing the bird was a team effort from both the experts, before transferring him to a more spacious cage than the cardboard box to await blood tests and x-ray.

Pain eased, but still imprisoned for his own good, we awaited news of his condition. In the meantime, we went and checked on the leopard seal making a spectacle of itself/peacefully snoozing on the Oriental Bay beach while people cooed from behind DOC yellow tape. But that’s another story.

Yup, there’s definitely a seal in the area

The albatross, as of time of writing, is still alive and flapping. The wing had a “soft tissue injury on the left carpus” – i.e. hurt wing – but apparently is improving nicely. We found it at the right time, as it was pretty dehydrated and a little starving, but the team is hopeful he’ll be soaring the skies again soon. Shout out to Tom Ricketts who called it in to the 0800 DOCHOT line for us to come collect; literally can’t do this work without people like you.

Imprisoned for his crimes, but mostly for healing

What have I learned? First off, intellectually knowing an albatross is big and actually having one try to nibble you in person are two very different things. I also found out I’m a little scared of birds that can de-finger me, but that’s probably for the best, and you really can’t blame an animal for being freaked out. And, obviously, a good ranger always knows where their towel is.

I also learned a ton about Salvin’s albatross, because now that I’ve met one I wanted to know more. These birds are considered to be Nationally Critical and, since their population is naturally quite small, they’re really susceptible to issues like bycatch or climate. You can find out more, like I did, on the DOC website here.

Most importantly of all, I saw firsthand that people do care about our native species. We’re thankful for the call, the people in the aged care home were thankful for us coming out, the people at the beach loved hearing more about leopard seals while keeping a respectful distance, and the Wellington Zoo staff jumped at the chance to help the albatross.

In ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’, the wedding guest leaves “a sadder, wiser man”. And I’d say that’s half-true here; I’m wiser, but this is definitely a happy ending.

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Kākāpō pace

Hauturu & kākāpō

Breeding triggers

The trial

What did we learn?

Wrapping up the trial

It takes a village

Moving forward to step back

Get involved

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