$45m to eliminate pests from South Westland - and keep them out

Thursday, 11 March 2021

The $45m Predator Free South Westland project is a step towards New Zealand becoming predator free by 2050. (First published in March 2021)

A $45 million project to eliminate possums, rats and stoats from 100,000 hectares of South Westland is being touted as New Zealand’s largest and most ambitious predator-free project yet.

It is part of the country’s goal of being predator free by 2050.

The Predator Free South Westland project was launched by Conservation Minister Kiri Allan in Franz Josef on Thursday.

It is an expansion of Zero Invasive Predators’ (Zip) successful work in removing stoats, possums and rats from a 12,000ha block in the Perth River Valley in South Westland since April 2019.

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The area from Ōkārito lagoon to the Southern Alps will be part of the 100,000ha targeted for pest removal.

* Last remaining known possum caught in Westland's Perth River Valley

* $15.7m for Lake Brunner's Mt Te Kinga to go predator free

ZIP’s rat and possum eradication in the Perth Valley was the first attempt to clear a mainland tract of pests, then hold the line. It is considered a roadmap to a Predator-Free 2050.

* No fences: Holding land once NZ predators are gone

The block was used to research how areas bordered by rivers, mountains and the sea could be protected from reinvasion.

Baxter the dog is captured at work by one of Zip's pest control cameras.

Zip used 1080 and traps to remove the pest, then kept them out using natural barriers like rivers and mountains plus lured trail cameras and traps.

Allan said the $45m funding over five years would be used to eliminate possums, rats and stoats between the Whataroa and Waiho rivers and the Southern Alps. The funding was made up of $3m from the Jobs for Nature scheme, $24 from the Department of Conservation and $12m from Predator Free 2050 Ltd.

The “ambitious project” would also create jobs for Covid-hit South Westland.

Bernie and Gerard Oudemans run Holly Homestead in Franz Josef, but have also been employed under the Jobs for Nature scheme while the tourism industry remains quiet due to Covid-19.

“We know this region has been particularly hard hit by the economic consequences of Covid-19 and that the community is hurting,” Allan said.

“[This] support will allow locals affected by the pandemic remain in South Westland while helping to carry out a ground-breaking project, which will both protect and restore the area’s natural heritage.”

Up to 50 jobs were expected to be created over the project’s five years, she said.

“Ultimately it is hoped the project will bring about an end to the ongoing widespread use of aerial 1080 to control predators within the region.”

Predator Free South Westland chairwoman and former Federated Farmers president Katie Milne said it was a “massive investment” for the district.

“Once possums are eliminated the threat of bovine tuberculosis will be gone forever – that’s huge for farmers and the economy,” she said.

A ZIP ranger in the Perth River Valley, which was successfully made predator free.

Zip had so far employed 18 people in South Westland, including some who previously worked in the tourism industry. It wanted to employ up to 25 more locals within the next six months.

Recently Zip took out a five-year lease on a Franz Josef motel to house staff. Three team members had joined the Franz Josef volunteer fire brigade, which was struggling for members after some left town in search of work.

Bernie Oudemans was employed by Zip to monitor cameras in the Perth River Valley that detect movement and lure predators using mayonnaise.

Her bed and breakfast business was hard hit by the lack of tourists so she and her husband, Gerard, had also been employed by the Jobs for Nature scheme. They did weed control and reviewed images from the remote cameras, which Bernie Oudemans could do from her business’ reception.

“We have been very lucky to be able to keep some income coming in. We have had some domestic tourists but just not enough,” she said.

DOC western South Island operations director Mark Davies said eliminating pests would protect New Zealand’s rarest kiwi – the rowi – along with many other rare and threatened species, including kōtuku (white heron), kea, and the recently rediscovered Ōkārito gecko.

“The difference for our native wildlife will be immense. Our taonga species such as rowi, which have been brought back from the edge of extinction, will be able to thrive in the absence of predators,” he said.

Predator Free 2050 Ltd chief executive Abbie Reynolds said the methods could be rolled out anywhere in New Zealand, eventually bringing an end to the widespread use of aerial 1080.