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Southland and Otago Conservation Board members meet with DOC staff and Hon Eugenie Sage, Minister of Conservation, in Queenstown
Photo: Kathryn Roberts | DOC
Welcome to the Conservation Boards' Newsletter
Number 10 : September / October 2018
Kia ora koutou
The recent flurry of anti 1080 activity has had a silver lining – it’s prompted some really great information getting out to the public about why we need to use 1080.
It’s also reinforced my gratitude for the work that Departmental staff and Conservation Board and NZ Conservation Authority members do on the frontline of conservation. Thank you for all the conversations and discussions you have with friends, colleagues and members of the public on the value of our indigenous plants and wildlife and natural landscapes and why they matter.
I hope that you have not been exposed to some of the abusive tactics that DOC staff have had to contend with personally and on social media. If you have, thank you for standing up for conservation.
These landscape scale 1080 operations are essential for the health of our forests, and the survival of so many birds like kiwi, kākā, kākariki and other wildlife like giant Powelliphanta land snails, especially with a severe mast year expected in 2019.
Aerial 1080 is the safest and most effective tool we currently have for large scale pest control. DOC’s monitoring shows how much of a difference it makes in allowing native species like kākā, whio and North Island brown kiwi to produce more chicks and have those chicks survive to sustain and build their populations.
The fact that I was successful in persuading Cabinet colleagues to approve the biggest increase in DOC’s operational funding in 16 years, with an extra $81 million over four years going to landscape scale predator control, shows that this Government recognises how important your and the Department and community’s work is for our indigenous species and the places they call home.
I hope more people recognise and accept the science, particularly the review by the former Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Jan Wright. She highlighted that aerial 1080 was the most cost effective means of controlling rats, stoats and possums at a landscape scale and that there were no practical alternatives. Dr Wright recommended it be used more widely to protect Aotearoa’s birds.
Our shared work to protect nature for its own sake and as the basis of our human wellbeing is incredibly important. It can be challenging but I have been immensely encouraged by the rising tide of people - iwi and hapu, landholders, councils, businesses and the wider public enthusiastic and engaged in controlling rats, stoats, possums and feral cats to create safe spaces for indigenous species. More and more New Zealanders understand we have a biodiversity crisis and are putting up their hands to help.
Thank you for all your work.
Ngā mihi,
Hon. Eugenie Sage
Minister of Conservation
Loder Cup Award 2018
Robert McGowan was the Loder Cup winner for 2018. Robert was nominated by the Nelson Marlborough Conservation Board and received the award at the Bay Conservation Alliance launch event, on 21 September in Tauranga.
Updates from the conservation boards
Northland
The Board met at the Dargaville DOC office in August. They welcomed new members to the meeting, following the recent appointment process, and acknowledged the work done by past members.
Auckland
The Board is finalising its progress review of the Auckland Conservation Management Strategy (CMS), which it hopes will be informative both for the NZCA and for other conservation boards currently preparing their own CMSs. They have also taken interest in local issues, including marine sedimentation impacts from land development and the management of kauri dieback disease.
Bay of Plenty
The focus of the past six months continues to be the development of the Bay of Plenty Conservation Management Strategy. The Board has been working closely with the management planning team and operations staff on developing the Strategy's ‘draft places’, and this work is now being shared with whanau, hapū and iwi.
East Coast/Hawke's Bay
The Board continues to support DOC with its partnership work across our region. They aim to have a joint public notification of the East Coast Hawke's Bay Conservation Management Strategy with Ngati Porou’s Nga Whakahaere Takirua in early 2019.
Wellington
Wellington Conservation Management Strategy update: The Board presented the draft Wellington Conservation Management Strategy to the NZCA in April, together with DOC planning staff.
Nelson Marlborough
In April, the Board shared a joint meeting and field trip with the West Coast Tai Poutini Conservation Board in Karamea. They also received an update at their August meeting on the Kotahitanga mō te Taiao Alliance - A collaborative landscape scale restoration project.
Canterbury Aoraki
The Board shares some updates from their recent activities over the past three months, having: farewelled outgoing members and welcomed new ones; ratified their 2017/18 Annual Report; and, been on a field trip through the Rangitata Valley, receiving multiple presentations from DOC staff.
Southland
The Board has continued with its advocacy role by submitting on various plans, proposals and policies and has attended hearings pertaining to its submissions. They are eager to start the Fiordland National Park Management Plan review and is concerned that the increasing number of tourists going to Milford by private car or camper van is unsustainable and a solution to this problem is urgently needed.
Consultations open for your comment
Your views on the next New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy
Have your say on how New Zealand conserves its indigenous biodiversity and how we'll contribute to safeguarding biodiversity globally.Proposed renaming of part of Raglan Recreation Reserve
Have your say on a proposal to rename part of Raglan Recreation Reserve. Submissions close 25 October 2018.New assessment of the conservation status of New Zealand macroalgae
Have your say on any changes in status of New Zealand macroalgae. Submissions close 31 October 2018.New assessment of the conservation status of New Zealand hornworts and liverworts
Have your say on any changes in status of New Zealand hornworts and liverworts. Submissions close 31 October 2018.Taupō Waters Management Plan
Have your say on the development of a management plan for Taupō Waters. Submissions close 31 October 2018.Draft Westland Tai Poutini National Park Management Plan
Have your say on the draft National Park Management Plan (NPMP) for Westland Tai Poutini National Park. Submissions close 9 November 2018.Draft Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park Management Plan
Have your say on the draft National Park Management Plan (NPMP) for Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park. Submissions close 9 November 2018.Disposal of a conservation area in Mangaweka
Have your say on a proposal to dispose of a conservation area and a reserve in Mangaweka. Submissions close 7 December 2018.Improving whitebait management
We want everyone’s opinion on whitebait. We’re collecting views from all over the country from now until 7 January 2019.
Keep up to date with public consultations here.
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Email rmcgovern@doc.govt.nz
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