December Update No images? Click here An update from Lou SansonTēnā koutou, Welcome to my regular update. It gives me great pleasure to share our conservation stories and give you an inside look at DOC's work, as well as the efforts of others contributing to the important work of conservation. World Ranger CongressDOC rangers Hirere Ngamoki, Jamie Werner, Jaycee Tipene-Thomas and Michelle Lambert attended the World Ranger Congress in Nepal from 12 to 16 November. I’m delighted to share this message from our Congress Crew. The Congress crew, Michelle Lambert, Hirere Ngamoki, Jaycee Tipene-Thomas and Jamie Werner. Photo: Jaycee Tipene-Thomas Humbled, grateful and appreciative are the key things we have got out of our journey through Nepal. People with little to nothing, radiating a room with a simple smile. When you take 70+ countries, 550 participants from all parts of the globe and talk over the issues we face, it really brings into perspective how thankful we are to call Aotearoa home. From third world countries to the advanced countries of the first world, the goal remains the same - to protect and preserve our environment for the betterment of tomorrow. We thank everyone for the support in getting us here, and the aroha we have received while being in Nepal. Ngā mihi Indigenous rangers from around the Pacific. Photo: Jamie Werner New DOC Principal Science AdvisorsThe new biodiversity funding has enabled us to create a network of Principal Advisors – Science Investment, an achievement I’m very proud of. This is modelled on the success of DOC having Professor Ken Hughey as one of the first Government Science Advisors on a Public Service Leadership Team reporting to the CEO. The team is made up of:
This network will oversee our biodiversity and science investments and ensure they’re linked up, including leveraging more science investment for conservation across New Zealand. We aim to work in a similar way to how Ken currently works to the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor, Professor Juliet Gerrard. Susanne Becken, Mara Wolkenhauer, Ken Hughey and Katrin Webb. Photo: DOC Te Papanui Conservation Park fireDOC’s quick response to the first major fire of the season deserves the highest praise. Scott Bowie from DOC's National Fire Team and our Coastal Otago and Central Otago DOC fire crews were active on the fire every day. Along with other DOC staff, they were critical links with the FENZ IMT structure. A huge thank you to you all. Te Papanui Conservation Area – more than 1,000 hectares of conservation land was impacted. Photo: Shane Pearce More than 1,000 hectares of high-altitude tussock biodiversity in this unique area was burnt. The ignition site was mostly inaccessible. FENZ and DOC crews were still there with four helicopters dealing with gale force winds and potential breakouts five days on. We will work with FENZ to investigate the cause of the blaze. This demonstrates how critical it is that we maintain our 600 trained DOC firefighters, who do so much to save our precious biodiversity across Aotearoa. DOC's communications play an important role in alerting the public to fire risk on conservation land. DOC’s Amanda Salt at Te Papanui Conservation Area. Photo: Daniel Jack Tasman River wins River Story AwardProtecting the Tasman River in South Canterbury has won DOC the Cawthron Institute’s River Story Award for 2019. Congratulations to Dean Nelson (Senior Ranger Biodiversity in Twizel) and team! Jemma Welch, DOC ranger in Twizel, accepts the River Story Award. Photo: Cawthron Institute DOC has been working on this long-term project with landowners, volunteer trappers and power companies Meridian and Genesis. The project vision is for the Tasman River to have improved breeding success and increasing populations of the key threatened riverbed birds. These include kakī/black stilt, tarapirohe/black-fronted tern, ngutuparore/wrybill, tarāpuka/black-billed gull, tūturiwhatu/banded dotterel, and other bird species, lizards, invertebrates and plants. The focus is on predator control and protecting the braided river system from being stabilised by weeds – mostly Russell lupins. Lupins also provide cover for pests predating river nesting birds and reduce the bare open gravel areas preferred for nesting habitat. Tasman River. Photo: Dean Nelson Over the past year 500 hedgehogs, 450 stoats and 140 cats have been killed. The late Scott Theobald had led all our control for karoro/Southern black-backed gull. Nest camera footage has shown these gulls to be a significant predator of a number of threatened riverbed bird species. As a result of this predator control, the Nationally Endangered tarapirohe/black-fronted tern has increased in numbers from fewer than 100 ten years ago to more than 600 in 2017. The River Story Award is part of the New Zealand River Awards. It is awarded for the most interesting and compelling story of an individual or community working to improve the health of a river, or rivers generally. This work would not be possible without the generous support of the community and our partners. Thanks to Genesis and Meridian for Project River Recovery funds. See Dean Nelson’s amazing story. Captive-reared kakī juveniles get their first taste of freedom in the Tasman River in August 2019. Photo: Dean Nelson GovTech Project - 'Nature Calls'Maintaining toilet facilities is one of the biggest challenges we face for day-to-day management across our sites. We have 2,000 toilets and 100 amenity blocks, needing in excess of 10,000 recorded staff hours annually to manage. As DOC plans for Carbon Zero, we need to find alternatives to flying vast amounts of human waste out by helicopter. Sustainable management of wastewater on public conservation land is being scrutinised as part of the Creative HQ's Lightning Lab GovTech programme – which aims to bring design led thinking to intractable Government problems. Our team is creating a 'Nature Calls' framework as part of the GovTech programme. They have spent three months talking to staff across the Operations, Biodiversity, Visitor and Heritage Groups, and looking at our current tools and systems on wastewater decision-making across the country. Team ‘Nature Calls’ (left to right) Rhianna Drury, Oli du Bern, Maggie Ford, John Cocks. Photo: Creative HQ 'Nature Calls' is a certification framework based on the four pillars of sustainability – social, human, economic and environmental. The framework will provide consistent criteria to assess DOC’s existing assets and build a national picture of our wastewater systems. The framework will also be used to support future decision-making of wastewater systems. 'Nature Calls' will be applicable beyond our wastewater management. As a sustainable decision-making framework, it will also be able to be applied across other DOC work streams. The team is looking for opportunities to develop 'Nature Calls' with Local Government, which is facing the same wastewater challenges with growing tourism pressures. Changing visitor behaviour in natureDOC has won the Industry Enabler Award at the NZ Tourism Awards for ‘Visit the Kiwi way’ – the behaviour in nature campaign we ran this past summer. Well done to our Customer Engagement Unit! The ‘Visit the Kiwi way’ campaign focused on visitor behaviour in five areas of littering, toileting, wildlife interaction, safety and drone use. These were identified by research and DOC operations staff as key ways to reduce visitor impacts on the environment. From left: Ah-leen Rainer from Kiwirail (award sponsors), Karen Jones, Dawn Muir and Luana Scowcroft In another win for DOC’s collaborative projects, Tiaki — Care for New Zealand (designed by creative agency, Design Works) has won big at the Designers Institute of New Zealand Best Awards. The campaign shows a commitment by Government and industry to address some of the impacts that come with increased tourism to Aotearoa. DOC is one of seven members of the Tiaki Governance Group and the Tiaki concept leads nicely into the behaviour change campaign DOC is running again this summer. 50,000th medal awarded in the Toyota Kiwi Guardians programmeA big milestone was achieved recently when Anya (from Auckland) claimed the Toyota Kiwi Guardians 50,000th medal! Launched in 2016, this programme connects young people and families with nature, through self-guided adventures or conservation actions they can do at home. Every action or activity earns a unique medal. Anya’s medal was for the Auckland Botanic Gardens, where she had to complete activities including listing as many bugs as she could see and finding the loudest bird in the bush. To celebrate this milestone, prizes are being awarded to three lucky Kiwi Guardians:
Anya, Samson and Linus will receive a backpack full of goodies, a special commemorative medal and a nature outing in Wellington. Toyota New Zealand and DOC are proud to be working together to inspire tomorrow’s conservation leaders to protect our land and its birds and animals. We’re looking forward to celebrating the 100,000th medal in the not too distant future! Anya and her brother. Photo: supplied Linus with his wide range of medals. Photo: supplied Heads of Park Agencies meetingOur regular catch-up of the Heads of Park Agencies from Australia and New Zealand confirms we share the same challenges. Kay Booth has returned from Sydney from this kanohi ki te kanohi (face to face) meeting. Carbon emissions, sustainability, concession fees, upgrading visitor infrastructure, climate change, fires, managing recreational activities in culturally important areas, and social licence for pest control approaches were issues we are all grappling with. Kay at a scenic lookout point, North Head National Park, Sydney. The rock inscriptions are from people quarantined there. The quarantine facilities (the oldest in the Southern Hemisphere) are historic heritage protected by the National Park. Photo: Kay Booth Most park agencies are doing similar things as DOC to reduce carbon emissions, such as switching fleet to electric vehicles and hybrids. Interestingly, one of the Australian carbon offsetting measures is to enter backburning (as a fire prevention method) into the ETS – for the projected saving of carbon emissions from preventing forest fires. Fire was a major topic of the meeting - understandably; with more than 100 fires in New South Wales and Queensland burning at the time of the meeting. Fires are behaving differently now in Australia. They are burning hotter, moving faster and occurring in places never burnt before. Media were even referring to parks negatively, as a source of fuel, despite Queensland explaining that less than 9% of Queensland fires started in parks. A huge thanks was given to DOC fire crews who have been “brilliant!” – with DOC providing support to Australia during previous fire seasons. Traditional Owner joint management is progressing well in some areas of Australia. For example, Parks Victoria now has 40 parks that have Traditional Owner land management agreements in place, and South Australia has 30 parks with agreements. Parks Australia reported that the closure of the walking track to the top of Uluru went well. Parks CEOs at North Head National Park, Sydney - viewing the Quarantine Station which is now run by a concessionaire as commercial accommodation. Photo: Kay Booth Zero Invasive Predators (ZIP) Research and Development Project - Perth River Valley, South WestlandThe Perth River, near Scone Hut. 12,000 hectares of Predator Free land. Photo: DOC ZIP’s research and development work in the Perth Valley is delivering incredible results. I joined key partners NEXT Foundation, the Environmental Protection Authority, and Federated Farmers to check out the latest research programme to completely remove possums, and potentially rats and stoats from Perth Valley. ZIP is aiming to prevent them from re-establishing across 12,000 hectares of rugged mountainous rata-kamahi and sub-alpine forest. The results to date amazed us. The ‘1080 to Zero’ predator removal operation was carried out in two phases, and completed in July this year. The ZIP team has been intensively monitoring the site for several months now, using 3,000 chew cards and 147 trail cameras lured with automated ‘MotoLure’ dispensers developed by ZIP. Since the operation, no stoats have been detected, and only 4 rats and 3 possums! The big challenge now for ZIP is to prevent predators re-establishing in the valley, by making use of the natural boundaries to invasion that surround the site – including the Southern Alps and deep, fast-flowing glacier-fed rivers – reinforced with a network of traps and detection devices. A gate installed on the Scone Creek swing bridge, to prevent predators crossing the river. Photo: DOC Al Bramley (ZIP Chief Executive) with a ‘ZIPinn’ rat and stoat trap (currently under development). The ZIPinn is designed to enable rapid detection of invading rats and stoats within otherwise predator-free areas. It consists of a tunnel with spring-loaded doors at each end, which close when the treadles inside are activated. The trap then automatically euthanises the rat or stoat using carbon dioxide. The field ranger gets an alert the next morning telling them a trap has been sprung. Photo: DOC ZIP is currently seeking further efficiencies to enable cost-effective detection of possums, rats and stoats at landscape scale. They already have remote reporting communication systems on their trapping infrastructure, so their field rangers know which traps need to be checked. One potential and exciting avenue includes the use of low-powered, remote reporting thermal cameras with on-board artificial intelligence. Al Bramley demonstrates an automated reporting raised possum trap, the ‘ZIP PosStop’, with an added ‘SafeLock’ function. This enables the trap to be locked during the day, reducing the potential risk to kea. Photo: DOC From left: Allan Freeth (CEO Environmental Protection Agency), Al Bramley, and Katie Milne (President Federated Farmers) with an automated ‘ZIP MotoLure’ dispenser, used here to detect possums, rats and stoats when paired with a motion-activated trail camera. The MotoLure has a 5-year battery life, and dispenses mayonnaise bait for up to 1 year without requiring manual service. Photo: DOC Within the Perth River valley, ZIP has also been researching new methods to reduce risks to kea associated with aerial predator operations, including the use of tahr carcasses to attract kea away from toxic baits. The tahr used in this trial are re-purposed (with approval) from DOC's tahr control programme, and their use is supported by the Game Animal Council and New Zealand Deerstalkers Association. Seven juvenile kea caught on camera at a tahr carcass during winter 2019. Image: ZIP Following the operation, ZIP continued to keep an eye on kea in the valley, using a network of trail cameras lured with tahr carcasses to help them assess the short and long-term effects of predator removal on the kea population. As this camera footage demonstrates, ZIP has confirmed that these carcasses are highly attractive to kea (and, apparently, the odd black-backed gull)! A clash of birds! A kea faces off with two gulls at a tahr carcass, caught by ZIP’s detection cameras during winter 2019. Image: ZIP Sincere thanks to NEXT Foundation, Predator Free 2050 Ltd, Jasmine Social Investments and Morgan Foundation for supporting this exciting work. And also to Te Rūnanga o Makaawhio, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, and the many DOC technical and operational specialists who ZIP acknowledge have provided invaluable advice and other support for this programme of work. Ice Lake, Butler River, the valley next to Perth and barrier to stoats, rats and possums - the next possibility. Photo: DOC MPI/DOC’s new Rotorua OfficeThe Minister of Forestry Hon. Shane Jones, Te Arawa Iwi, staff of both Te Uru Rākau and DOC and I attended the blessing of our new office facility site in Rotorua, which will ultimately house around 50 MPI staff and 50 DOC staff. Minister Jones spoke of the Government’s intent to move Public Service jobs from the main centres to the regions and the efficiency of co-locating key public service agencies in regional New Zealand. Minister of Forestry Hon. Shane Jones, Deputy Director-General of Te Uru Rākau Julie Collins, and Lou Sanson. Photo: DOC This project is a flagship commitment by both DOC and MPI to the Government’s vision, along with making an important commitment to sustainability. The facility will utilise sustainable construction techniques including using New Zealand grown timber and will deliver a range of benefits including social and environmental. The facility will be built by Bay of Plenty Regional Council, through Quayside Holdings Ltd (Port of Tauranga). Whakarewera School kapa haka group perform at our new MPI and DOC building site. Photo: DOC Southland forest permanently protectedWe celebrated permanent protection of 740 hectares of Fiordland rainforest with the South Island Landless Natives Act (SILNA) owners of the Rowallan-Alton Māori Incorporation. The dramatic piece of forest is on the edge of Te Waewae Bay and importantly enables access for our proposed new Hump Track Great Walk opening in 2022. Predator work, along with extensive possum control, is planned along the coastal cliffs to bring back tītī over the block. Lou Sanson with Rowallan-Alton Māori Incorporation Chair, Harold Thomas, and guests. Photo: DOC 2019 New Zealand Biosecurity AwardsEradicating pest fish and reducing the spread of kauri dieback took top honours at the Award Ceremony in November. Congratulations to:
Catfish Killas volunteers. From left: William Anaru, Alex Malcom and Steven Henry. Photo: Craig Brown DOC on FacebookBe sure to follow DOC on our new Facebook page, on Twitter, Instagram and more. My team have set up a hub for my social media activity on the DOC website. #DOCBoss shows all my news, views and adventures in one place. Take a look and let me know your feedback by emailing Director-General@doc.govt.nz. Hei konei rā, Lou Sanson |