Forest & Bird Magazine 363 Autumn 2017

ISSUE 363 • AUTUMN 2017 www.forestandbird.org.nz

OURS NOT MINE Nature's not for sale PLUS

Te Awa Tupua

First catch your kea

Backyard bugs

ISSUE 363

• Autumn 2017

www.forestandbird.org.nz STAY IN TOUCH Forest & Bird National Office Ground Floor, 205 Victoria Street 6011 PO Box 631, Wellington 6140.

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Contents

CONTACT A STAFF MEMBER See www.forestandbird. org.nz/our-people for a full list of staff members and their contact details.

Editorial

Focus on flora

2 National parks under pressure 4 Letters

38 Rātā detectives

Conservation news

40 Backyard bugs

CONTACT A BRANCH See www.forestandbird.org.nz/ branches for a full list of our 50+ Forest & Bird branches.

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6 7 8 10 11

Braided river land grab Predator-free successes Environmental perceptions Ruataniwha video Astrolabe legal case, freshwater fiasco

Cover story 12 Coal mining boom or bust?

15 Te Kuha’s not for taming 18 Nature’s not for sale

Conservation heroes Our partners 42 Base Outdoors

Climate disruption 43 Forest & Bird’s science symposium

Best Fish Guide 44 Be a hero for nature

In the field

Biodiversity in crisis

48 Fabulous fungi

20 Auckland’s reserves under pressure 28 Nature’s resilience Kaikoura

Going places

JOIN FOREST & BIRD

Defending nature

Marine

0800 200 064

22 Leaving a $5m legacy 46 Sanctuary success

52 Sharks, caretakers of the ocean

The Big Read

54 The Bird Watchers

24 Te Awa Tupua: I am the river and the river is me

Books

Canterbury tales

Parting shot

Watch us on YouTube www.youtube.com/ forestandbird

membership@forestandbird.org.nz www.forestandbird.org.nz/joinus Members receive four free issues of Forest & Bird magazine a year.

EDITOR

Caroline Wood MAGAZINE ENQUIRIES AND LETTERS

30 Loss of native vegetation in the high country

E editor@forestandbird.org.nz

Birdlife

ART DIRECTOR/DESIGNER

32 First catch your kea

Rob Di Leva, Dileva Design E rob@dileva.co.nz

Pest-free NZ

PRINTING

34 Smart maps

50 Rotokare Scenic Reserve

Short story

56 New Zealand's Rivers, A Bunk for the Night, Rivers Rare.

IBC Kōkako chicks Fabulous fungi, page 48

Webstar FOR ALL ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES

Karen Condon T 0275 420 338 E mack.cons@xtra.co.nz Membership & circulation enquiries T 0800 200 064 E membership@forestandbird.org.nz

Birdlife International 37 Our Pacific partners

COVER SHOT Te Kuha’s wilderness has high conservation values that would be destoyed by the proposed opencast mine near Westport on the West Coast. Photo: Neil Silverwood/www.neilsilverwood.com

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Editorial MARK HANGER

Parks under pressure

I

n this, my first column as President, I’d like to highlight a fast-developing problem facing conservation in Aotearoa.

How do we ensure the protection of the natural treasures in our national parks – treasures we thought were already safe?

Conservationists have worked hard to ensure our iconic landscapes and ecosystems are preserved for future generations. But increasingly tourism and pressure for development in our national parks are threatening to undo these significant achievements.

For decades we have faced battles on all sides from logging companies, mining interests, government departments with agendas for “multiple-use conservation”, and from agri-business. Over time public opinion has swung behind Forest & Bird and we have been remarkably successful as the voice for nature in Aotearoa by ensuring iconic Mark Hanger at Brewster regions of the country are protected in perpetuity for nature Glacier, Mount Aspiring conservation.

National Park.

Or so we thought.

In 2010, the Government announced plans to allow mining in some national parks and high value conservation areas. The New Zealand public was outraged and, fortunately, as a direct result the proposals did not proceed.

Then, shortly after, logging began in our native conservation forests for the first time since they were protected in 1987. The logging of fallen trees, an important part of the forest ecosystem, followed severe storms on the West Coast of the South Island. We now know that conservation doesn’t necessarily mean protection anymore when it comes to our native forests.

Right now, or in the very near future, the management plans of many of our national parks are up for review. Every 10 years, the Department of Conservation reviews these plans to set priorities for the next decade.

The Paparoa National Park management plan is among the first off the block. This review, and those that will follow, potentially herald a new offensive on our national parks, eroding their integrity and threatening their unique biodiversity.

Nature conservation looks as though it will get a very poor deal out of the management plan and conservation strategy reviews. The rush to develop recreational and tourism facilities, such as the Pike 29 walking and mountain biking track in Paparoa National Park, appears to be getting enthusiastic encouragement from the Government.

Already developers, such as regional development agencies, are targeting these reviews. The Southland Regional Development Strategy stated: “...An easing of the strictures on development of the DOC estate is required...The upcoming review of the Fiordland National Park Plan is the opportunity to do this.”

The New Zealand Conservation Authority is concerned and is battling to protect the integrity of our national parks again. Pressure for our national parks to be developed with infrastructure for helicopter tours, commercial high-end huts, and mountain biking all threaten the untouched most precious conservation values for which they were protected.

The Conservation Act allows for recreation and tourism in national parks but only when they are consistent with conservation.

The New Zealand public believes our national parks are safe, well managed, and protected. It’s up to all of us in Forest & Bird to ensure the public is aware that our iconic protected lands are not as safe and secure as they should be. As members we must also make our voices heard through submissions, and utilising traditional and social media.

Ka kite anō Mark Hanger Forest & Bird President Perehitini, Te Reo o te Taiao

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Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand Inc. (Founded 1923) Registered Office at Ground Floor, 205 Victoria Street, Wellington 6011.

PATRON Her Excellency The Rt Honourable Dame Patsy Reddy, Governor-General of New Zealand CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Kevin Hague PRESIDENT

Mark Hanger TREASURER

Graham Bellamy BOARD MEMBERS

Brent Barrett, Lindsey Britton, Tony Dunlop, Kate Graeme, James Muir, John Oates, Ines Stäger CONSERVATION AMBASSADORS

Sir Alan Mark, Gerry McSweeney, Craig Potton DISTINGUISHED LIFE MEMBERS:

Ken Catt, Linda Conning, Audrey Eagle, Alan Edmonds, Gordon Ell, Stewart Gray, Philip Hart, Joan Leckie, Hon. Sandra Lee-Vercoe, Carole Long, Peter Maddison, Sir Alan Mark, Gerry McSweeney, Craig Potton, Fraser Ross, Eugenie Sage, Guy Salmon, Lesley Shand, David Underwood Forest & Bird is a registered charitable entity under the Charities Act 2005. Registration No CC26943.

Forest & Bird is published quarterly by the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand Inc. Opinions expressed by contributors in the magazine are not necessarily those of Forest & Bird.

Forest & Bird is printed on elemental chlorine-free paper made from FSC® certified wood fibre and pulp sourced from responsibly managed forests.

Registered at PO Headquarters, Wellington, as a magazine.

ISSN 0015-7384. Copyright.

All rights reserved.

Letters Forest & Bird welcomes your feedback on conservation topics. Please send letters up to 200 words, with your name, home address, and daytime phone number. We don’t always have space to publish all letters or publish them in full.

The best contribution to the Letters page of the next issue will win Ghosts of Gondwana, the fully revised edition of George Gibb’s classic history of the origins of life in New Zealand (Potton & Burton) RRP $59.99 Please send letters to Editor, Forest & Bird magazine, PO Box 631, Wellington 6140, or email editor@forestandbird.org.nz by 1 May 2017.

Tourism trumps conservation

Just 1% please

The cover of your last issue [Summer 2016] featured a photo of tourists swarming on the Tongariro Crossing.

In the same issue was a photo of a lone tent pitched by the Pouakai Tarns in the shadow of Mount Taranaki. The Pouakai Tarns could soon look like the Tongariro Emerald Lakes on a busy day if tourist promoters have their way.

What is proposed is a “Pouakai Crossing that could be a one-day-walk alternative to the Tongariro Crossing”. This is the classic tourism ploy: overdo one place, then look for somewhere not yet exploited to exploit in turn.

The proposed walk would include a side trip to the tarns. They are tiny, and the surroundings are swampy and fragile underfoot, with easily damaged (and exquisite) specialised vegetation. Certainly it’s no place for a tent or frequent foot traffic. To make the place tourist friendly would require a series of board walks and “no go” signs.

But sheer numbers would spoil it anyway. The pity is that tourism trumps conservation and the very gems nature has given us are to be sacrificed on the altar of “economic benefits”.

I enjoyed the latest Forest & Bird magazine very much with its focus on conservation/tourism tensions. This is not a new situation, but every year the tension is more apparent. I want to commend the article by Alex Stone and suggest that this argument is shared with a wider audience. Alex makes so much sense with his 1% of national spend for DOC and the need to return tourism $$ to DOC. Amazing to think that allocating just 1% of the government’s annual $96 billion spending would mean a doubling of funding for DOC.

Mike and Lynn Spencer, Okato, near New Plymouth Best letter winner

Time for a taonga tax We are “enjoying” a massive tourist invasion. Nearly 3.5 million tourists visited last year, with half of them coming to “experience nature”. It’s not great that our Department of Conservation acts as a de facto tourism operator, flouting its own management plan by allowing an 800% increase in helicopter landings on Mt Tutoko, rather than working to halt the decline of our threatened native species. What happened to the peace and quiet in our wilderness? It’s being polluted by noise, and many of our threatened species will be long gone before 2050. DOC is primarily in existence to carry out conservation work, funded by our tax dollars, yet our country is still being swamped by predators.

The Greens have promoted a taonga levy ($14–$18 added to existing border charges). Tourists are already paying $22–$26 towards biosecurity and customs, but nothing for conservation. Surely this should change?

Tourists pay NZ$58 on entry to Australia and the UK charges NZ$127. If tourists paid a $50–$100 environment/ conservation/taonga levy, to supplement our taxes, we could fund predator control as well as more public toilets and cycle lanes.

Lynne Stewart, Clyde, Central Otago

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Laura Dawson, Taupo

Canterbury’s water woes Megan Hubscher’s article was spot on (Spring 2016). ECan (Environment Canterbury) should hang its head in shame.

So 372 farmers have been significantly non-compliant with their water rights! They should have been prosecuted and probably been convicted. All ECan has done is to serve abatement notices. But then there was no follow-up.

ECan’s non-action beggars belief!

Forest & Bird has calculated that over two billion litres of water either potable or not had been syphoned from Canterbury waterways. This offending has been so blatant the only way for ECan to bring their miscreants into line is to prosecute and convict three of the worst offenders, and for each of them to be fined at least $300,000 dollars or better still incarcerate them for at least two years. Nothing less would satisfy the Canterbury farmers who have been compliant or the New Zealand public who are sick to death of this water wastage!

Brian Collins, Wellington

Parting shot plea I hope you aren’t going to make a habit of having text on your “parting shot” page (Summer 2016) as we quite often use these stunning shots to make cool jigsaws to give to little people. We also regularly recycle old magazines for cards.

Thanks for a wonderful magazine. Keep up the great work!

Emily Hunter, Hawke's Bay

Polluted rivers I saw an article by Kevin Hague which referred to “New Zealand waterways as an embarrassment”. In the latest issue of the Forest & Bird magazine, I see an article by David Brooks stating it will take 80 years to clean up the Waikato.

Coincidently, I was sorting through some old conservation news files of my father’s and found the enclosed cutting from the NZ Herald dated 4 July 1959 – same problems, same causes! Fast forward 58 years, has anything changed, is anyone listening yet?

Janet Watkins, Auckland

Misguided on rabbits and cats

WIN A BOOK Forest & Bird is giving away two copies of The Story of the Hauraki Gulf by Raewyn Peart, Bateman Publishing, RRP $89.99. Raewyn explores the gulf’s environmental, social, and cultural history through the eyes of those who live, work, and play there.

To enter the draw, email your entry to draw@ forestandbird.org.nz. Please put HAURAKI in the subject line and include your name and address in the email. Or put your name and address on the back of an envelope and post to HAURAKI draw, Forest & Bird, PO Box 631, Wellington 6140. Entries close 1 May 2017.

Dr John Flux’s letter (Summer 2016) makes the same assumption that he has previously (May 2015), namely, that higher-order introduced mammalian predators such as stoats and cats actually control rabbit and rodent populations.

Unfortunately, the opposite has now been shown to be true – rabbits and rodents “control” stoat and cat populations.

To remove these lower trophic orders first in an eradication programme would be woefully misguided, as these top predators, their limiting food source removed, would then diet-switch to vulnerable native prey such as birds and reptiles with even more devastating consequences.

Indeed, if stoats and cats did actually limit rabbit and rodent populations, their bio-control introduction would have been a huge success. Tragically, history has shown us otherwise.

Indeed, it was on Macquarie Island where New Zealand scientists showed that the increase in rabbit population was due to climatic warming and release from myxoma virus, rather than any impact from cat eradication.

Richard Henry of Resolution

Dr James Russell, Swanson, Auckland

Brian Bowell, Matangi, Waikato

50 years ago

The winners of New Zealand’s Rivers by Catherine Knight, published by Canterbury University Press, RRP $49.99, were Shirlee Scott, of Gisborne, and Ian Garrett, of Wellington.

In the Summer 2016 issue, Noz Fletcher, of Picton, mentioned this title and that it was time for a reprint. Well his prayer has been answered. There is a new edition from Cadsonbury Publication, Christchurch, cost $75. It includes a new epilogue from Alison Ballance and corrected captions for the photographs. It is essential reading and the life story of a vital contribution to conservation in New Zealand.

Reserve created for Hutton’s shearwater The Government has established a reserve to protect a breeding colony of Hutton’s shearwater discovered recently [by Forest & Bird member Geoff Harrow] in the Kaikoura Ranges. The Minister of Lands, Mr Duncan MacIntyre, said recently 2,500 acres of Crown land had been set aside.

The breeding colony was the only one known of the species, which established its nest by burrowing in deep, crumbly soil among tussock, snow grass and carpet grass. The burrowing caused soil movement that was accelerated by noxious animals in the area.

It is important to the future Hutton’s shearwater that the existing vegetation should be protected from grazing by domestic stock or other animals,” said Mr MacIntyre.

“Establishing the reserve is a step in this direction.”

Forest & Bird, number 163, 1967. *See p28 for the latest news on Hutton's shearwaters

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Conservation news The Waiau River at Hamner Springs.

Photo: Caroline Wood

Braided river land grab Forest & Bird is calling on agencies to do more to stop publicly owned land at the margins of braided rivers being effectively “privatised”. By Caroline Wood Forest & Bird recently revealed how 12,000ha of Canterbury’s braided river margins has been taken over by adjacent farms during the past 22 years. Nearly a quarter of this was public reserve land.

Authorities responsible for the management of public riverbeds, such as Environment Canterbury (ECan), Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), and the Department of Conservation (DOC), acknowledge that some of the land has been taken and developed illegally.

Following media reports in February, ECan offered to meet with Forest & Bird to discuss what we want to see happen to stop more braided river margins being lost, especially in the upper river catchments (see panel).

Jen Miller, Forest & Bird’s regional manager for Canterbury, said: “Forest & Bird has become more and more concerned over what appears to be an increasing land grab of our public land for private economic use.

“It has resulted in riverbeds being turned into dairy land and the loss of any remaining indigenous vegetation and important habitat for fauna such as lizards and skinks.

“Our biodiversity is in crisis. Here we have public land managed by 6

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ECan, LINZ, or in some cases DOC, which has been lost forever. Their role is to protect and manage this land, not to facilitate its destruction.”

Increasing land values on the Canterbury Plains during the past three decades has put pressure on land that is part of the river flood plain, and previously undeveloped land is now being converted into farmland.

“The most urgent issue is the development occurring in the upper catchments of our braided rivers, which in some instances still have good quality and intact biodiversity,” adds Jen Miller.

River margins are part of the braided river system and provide an important habitat for endangered birds such as kaki, wrybill, and the black-billed gull. Photo: Dave Murray

REPORT'S FINDINGS ECan’s report used satellite imagery and aerial photos to map the boundaries between developed farmland and undeveloped or forested river margins for 24 Canterbury braided rivers where they crossed the low plains. They were compared against later aerial and satellite imagery.

A total of 11,630ha of formerly undeveloped or forested river margin was converted to intensive agricultural use between 1990 and 2012, an average of 530ha a year.

Margins of the Rangitata River experienced the greatest change between 1990 and 2001. During 2001–07, the greatest loss was on the margins of the Rakaia and the Waiau rivers. During the final 2008–12 time period, the greatest change was to the Waiau and Ashburton rivers.

About 60% of the converted land was private freehold, 24% was public reserve land (vested in DOC, and regional and district councils), and the remaining 16% was unallocated or unoccupied Crown land. *Source: Land Use Change On The Margins of Lowland Canterbury Braided rivers, 1990-2012.

What does Forest & Bird want?

1 A stop to any further land disposal of riverbed and development on riverbeds.

2 To establish who owns what and develop a strategic plan for the long-term restoration of braided rivers. Review riverbed leases and increase to commercial levels. Use extra revenue for braided river restoration.

3 An inventory of all unconsented work that has diverted water courses, springs, and ephemeral channels and implement a plan to remediate these waters. No more flood protection work on sensitive riverbed.

4 Any illegal occupation and use of riverbed to cease and the riverbed to be remediated as part of enforcement. Proper enforcement, compliance, and monitoring.

Northland Forest win

BATS BOOST

Iris Burn, Keplar Track

Recent monitoring reveals endangered bat and bird numbers are up in the Kepler area of Fiordland National Park after aerial predator control last spring.

Following widespread beech seeding across Fiordland last year and increasing rat numbers, the Department of Conservation treated a 20,000ha area of the Kepler Mountains with biodegradable 1080 as part of the Battle for Our Birds programme.

Monitoring of long-tailed bats in the Iris Burn valley of the Kepler Mountains in December recorded 57 female bats, up from 43 in 2015 and 32 in 2013, when the rare bat was first monitored at this site.

A whio/blue duck survey showed that duckling numbers in the Iris Burn had almost doubled from 16 in 2014 to 30 this year.

DOC Operations Manager for Fiordland, Greg Lind, said: “It’s a great result to be seeing the steady increase of some of our rarest species such as long-tailed bats and whio.

“Rangers are also encountering greater numbers of Fiordland tokoeka kiwi in their work, and trampers have been reporting seeing lots of kea, South Island robin, kākāriki, fantail, and bellbird.”

Rodent monitoring following the September aerial 1080 operation in the Kepler area showed that rat tracking levels dropped from 22% in July to 2% in November. In comparison, rat tracking reached 70% during the same period in the nearby Murchison Mountains where aerial 1080 wasn’t used.

This year’s Battle for our Birds programme will cover more than 800,000ha to protect our most vulnerable populations of native species.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry recently announced that DOC will work with local hapū to design a 20-year multi-species pest control programme for Russell State Forest. It is the first time such a commitment has been made in the country. An extra $380,000 will be spent on predator control in the Russell Forest during 2017.

Forest & Bird’s Northland Conservation Advocate Dean Baigent-Mercer welcomed the announcement and says he is hopeful that increased and ongoing pest control will allow birds that have become extinct in the forest in recent decades, such as kākā and kākāriki, to return from nearby predator-free offshore islands.

Forest & Bird released drone footage in late 2015 to highlight the issue of Northland’s collapsing forests.

“Controlling introduced predators means the forest can rebound naturally and native birds like tūī, kūkupa, and kiwi will be able to nest in peace and build in numbers.

This is a small but significant start towards reversing forest collapse,” says Dean Baigent-Mercer.

Currently, more than 46,000ha of native forest under DOC’s care in Northland are collapsing. Even the native forests that have the highest priority ranking under DOC’s new Natural Heritage Management System have not been given sufficient resourcing for multi-species pest control.

Dean Baigent-Mercer.

“The constant restructuring and underfunding of DOC has been to the detriment of these forests. In the most tribally complex area of the country and home to the last great forests of the north, we need continual commitment to bring back other forests from collapse and funding increases for DOC to do it,” adds Dean Baigent-Mercer

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Conservation news The survey revealed mixed views when it comes to people’s perceptions of the health of our rivers. Image: Porter River valley, near Castle Hill, Canterbury high country. Photo: Steve Attwood

The consensus gap Professor Ken Hughey talks to David Brooks about the latest Public Perceptions of New Zealand’s Environment survey.

Findings in the most recent survey of public attitudes towards New Zealand’s environmental issues reveal big gaps between perception and reality when it comes to some major conservation and environmental issues.

Nearly 70% of people surveyed in the Public Perceptions of New Zealand’s Environment: 2016 believe the state of New Zealand’s native plants and animals is adequate, good, or very good. Although the proportion of people describing the situation as bad or very bad has risen from nearly 12% to nearly 29% since the three-yearly surveys started in 2000, the great majority of New Zealanders still have a positive view.

The latest survey, conducted by Lincoln University’s Ken Hughey, Geoff Kerr, and Ross Cullen, points out this perception is contradicted by threats of extinction to 81% of New Zealand native bird species, 72% of freshwater fish, 88% of reptiles, all native frogs, and 27% of marine mammals.

While stories about increasing numbers of kākāpō eggs being 8

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hatched and local reintroductions of birds and other species to habitats receive a lot of media attention, these “ambulance at the bottom of the cliff” stories mask the fact these species have nearly disappeared.

“It’s pretty clear to us it’s partly about messaging,” says Ken Hughey, Professsor of Environmental Management at Lincoln and Chief Science Advisor to the Department of Conservation.

“The messaging is a hard one to get right. The state of our biodiversity is actually really bad, we know that, but if you keep labouring the point that it’s really bad, people might just give up on it. It’s about how you get the balance right,” Ken Hughey says.

Of the 2468 people who responded to the 2016 electronic survey, climate change emerged as the top global issue, rated by a third of respondents as the most important issue facing the world, more than double the next highest issue. But, as a New Zealand issue, climate change ranked third most important on 8.8%, behind fresh water and agriculturerelated issues.

“I think people see stories in the media every day about freshwater and they think here’s something we can do something about. They’re not denying New Zealand has a role to play in dealing with climate change, but freshwater is something that’s in their face every day in the media.”

These results highlight the importance of the media in shaping public perceptions of the state of our environment, he says. The 2010 survey highlighted public concerns about mining in national parks and conservation lands, reflecting the public debate over Government plans to allow mining in highly protected areas, including parts of Paparoa National Park, Great Barrier Island, and Coromandel.

“What people learn about an issue from the media is then reflected in what they think about an issue. An example of that is the ‘Dirty Dairying’ campaign, which has maintained momentum since its beginnings in the early 2000s and been an incredibly successful environmental campaign,” Ken Hughey says. The proportion of people who recognise farming as one of the main causes of damage to freshwater has more than doubled from 24.7% in 2000 to 59% in 2016.

The survey’s authors say any gap between public perceptions and reality can have important implications because there may be demands for scarce environmental funds and expertise to manage less serious problems – to the detriment of the overall environment.

Forest & Bird is one of several organisations that help to fund the survey, which is the only long-running survey of its kind in the world.

You can find a copy of the 2016 report on www.forestandbird. org.nz.

SURVEY'S KEY FINDINGS 2016

Au revoir Andrew

FOREST A large majority of New Zealanders have a positive perception of the state of our forests and bush, with 48% describing their condition as good or very good and 30% rating it as adequate.

Andrew Cutler has stepped down after five years as President and seven years serving on Forest & Bird’s governing board. He said it had been a privilege to be President and thanked members for their support during his time in the job.

“It’s been great to work with you all, see your projects, and participate in the discussions and debates about conservation in New Zealand,” he said.

“As you know, during my time as President, I have been focused on a change agenda with the aim of modernising and professionalising the operations of the Society. I believe this work has put the Society in a strong position to advocate and represent for nature in coming years.”

Andrew said the achievements he was most proud of included bringing thousands of new supporters into the society through full implementation of face-to-face recruitment, increasing operating income from $4 million to $7 million since 2011, updating the constitution, and reviewing national office’s operations.

“Initiating and supporting these initiatives has been a great experience but also very time and energy consuming. With the Society in a strong position, I felt it’s the right time to take a break and put my focus elsewhere,” he added.

Forest & Bird’s new President, Mark Hanger, paid tribute to Andrew’s contribution: “For seven years, Andrew has devoted his time, his skills, his leadership, and energy to Forest & Bird at a national level. He has provoked thought, challenged us, challenged the Government, and heralded conservation successes. We owe Andrew a huge debt of gratitude. His foresight and leadership will be missed.”

FRESHWATER There was a more mixed response to the state of our rivers and lakes.

A total of 45% see the state of our rivers and lakes as bad or very bad, and 49% see it as good or adequate. Water-related issues were seen as the most important environmental problem facing the country, followed by agriculturerelated issues and climate change.

MARINE The great majority had a view of the state of our coastal waters and beaches as being adequate or better, although more than a third believed the state of our marine fisheries was bad or very bad.

MANAGEMENT Nearly 50% believed the management of New Zealand’s natural environment was good or very good compared with other developed countries, and more than 30% said it was adequate.

Two-thirds of respondents thought native land and freshwater plants and animals were adequately managed or better. But more than a third believed marine fisheries were badly or very badly managed. The equivalent figure for freshwater was 47.2%.

BIODIVERSITY Fifty percent of respondents thought the Department of Conservation and/or regional councils should be doing much more to control rats, ferrets, stoats, and possums.

Kiwi were perceived as the species most at risk of extinction by nearly a quarter of those surveyed, followed by Hector’s/ Māui’s dolphins and kākāpō at about 12% each.

NEWS IN BRIEF SEMPA submissions Forest & Bird members and supporters sent in more than 1200 web submissions on the South-East Marine Protection Forum proposals for new marine reserves in Otago, Southland, and South Canterbury. Many branches and individual members also sent in comprehensive submissions. The forum received 2800 submissions in total. Thanks to everyone who added their voice to Forest & Bird’s call for meaningful marine protection of our southeast ocean. The Forum will now deliberate on its final recommendations to the Government.

Youth award nominations Nominations are now closed for our 2017 Old Blue and Distinguished Life Member awards.

But there is still time to nominate a worthy young person for our Te Kaiārahi Rangatahi o te Taiao Youth Award. The deadline is Friday 28 April. As you may have heard, the Board has introduced two new branch awards that will replace the Pestbuster and Golden Spade awards. The aim is to recognise the wide range of conservation work our branches undertake, whether it’s controlling pest plants and animals, restoring native ecosystems, planting trees, or doing advocacy work. For more information, see www.forestandbird.org.nz.

Connor Wallace, last year's Youth Award winner.

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Conservation news

Ruataniwha video hits home More than 150,000 people viewed Forest & Bird’s Ruataniwha dam video in the first two weeks of its release. The two-minute film showed some of the public conservation land that will be destroyed if New Zealand’s largest irrigation dam in the Hawke’s Bay goes ahead.

Last year, the Court of Appeal ruled that the Department of Conservation’s decision, that allowed the Ruahine Forest Park land swap to go ahead was illegal.

But Conservation Minister Maggie Barry appealed the decision along with dam promoters Hawke’s Bay Regional Investment Company (HBRIC). Forest & Bird appeared at

the Supreme Court last month to defend the original decision.

In the video of the proposed dam site, Forest & Bird states: “If Minister Maggie Barry succeeds in court, it could create a legal precedent that lets over a million hectares of conservation land in New Zealand be traded away and destroyed by business interests.”

The video shows some of the important native species and habitats known to exist within the dam’s footprint, including native bats, New Zealand falcon, and rare wetlands.

Forest & Bird Chief Executive Kevin Hague says: “This case is about more than Ruahine Forest Park

Welcome Rebecca Rebecca Browne has joined Forest and Bird as Kiwi Conservation Club Officer and Wild Things editor, based in the Wellington office. She moves from Te Papa, where she was a key member of its education team. Before this, Rebecca was a classroom teacher in early childhood and primary school settings in New Zealand and the UK. Rebecca has developed numerous successful resources for children and adults in several subject areas. Most recently, she has been involved in a twoyear research project alongside the sector, looking to support kaiako/educators to engage in science and environmental education with very young learners.

This project received high praise, including from the Royal Society of New Zealand.

Rebecca values the importance of empowering children and young people, and is passionate about open-ended and project-based learning. High on her agenda is finding more opportunities for members, young and old, to contribute, collaborate, and co-create over the coming year.

Rebecca in front of new signage outside Forest & Bird’s national office in Wellington.

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and what would be New Zealand’s largest irrigation dam. It’s about all of New Zealand’s specially protected conservation areas, and whether they’re safe from commercial interests.

Does the government have the right to exchange parts of our conservation land, so they can be destroyed?

“The outcome of this case will determine whether specially protected public land can be obtained by private businesses, or whether that land belongs to the people of New Zealand and to the environment.” *You can help us defend nature by making a donation, see www. forestandbird.org.nz/defendnature.

Astrolabe appeal Forest & Bird says the Government is road-blocking regional councils from taking action to protect New Zealand’s marine environment.

It was announced in January that the Government would appeal an Environment Court ruling that confirmed regional councils can use the RMA to protect native species by controlling fishing-related activities.

The original Environment Court case was prompted by the Minister of Primary Industries’ lack of action on an application to protect the Astrolabe Reef through a temporary ban on fishing within three nautical miles of it.

Forest & Bird was a party to the original application by the Motiti Rohe Moana Trust.

Forest & Bird’s spokesperson Geoff Keey said: “The Environment Court offered our oceans some hope last year, by confirming that regional councils can regulate fishing and marine activity to protect New Zealand’s underwater ecosystems.

Astrolabe Reef after Rena shipwreck. Photo: Darryl Torckler

“The Government’s decision to appeal will be disappointing to many regional councils who could have used the decision to balance commercial and environmental interests on the sea, as they do on land.

“We would like to see our ministers putting the same effort into acting to protect our marine space as they do in expensive and lengthy court cases that erode New Zealand’s environmental protection laws.”

Freshwater fiasco As this issue went to print, the Government released controversial proposed changes to the regulations that govern water quality standards for New Zealand’s rivers, lakes, and estuaries.

Environment Minister Nick Smith announced that the Government wanted 90% of New Zealand’s rivers and lakes to be “swimmable” by 2040.

Under current standards, a waterway is considered “swimmable” (excellent water quality) if the E.coli level is less than 260 per 100ml of water for 95% of the time. But under the proposed standard the allowable pollution will double and the quality will be considered excellent if it is below 540 E.coli per 100ml.

Forest & Bird, along with other conservation groups and public health bodies, criticised the new swimming standard as being confusing and raising the risk of illness. The Government’s own figures show the risk of contracting an infection would increase from a one in 100 chance to a one in 20 chance under the new ’swimmable’ standard.

Chief Executive Kevin Hague said: “We’re deeply disappointed. We were hoping the announcement would represent a real improvement for freshwater. We know it’s the No 1 environmental concern for New Zealanders, and we hoped the Government would have heard this message.

“Sadly what seems to have happened is the Government has thought that a sleight of hand is enough.

What the Government has done is change the definition of swimmable. So a river that by today’s rules is described as only ’wadeable’ will be defined as ‘swimmable’.

“The increased risk means that, if a school class visits one of our rivers, at least one child is likely to come back sick from polluted water. What parent will be willing to take that chance?”

Forest & Bird also believes the proposals don't do

Rangitaiki River, near Thornton in the Bay of Plenty, is a popular swimming and fishing spot. It has a 1%–5% risk of illness based on three years of monitoring. You can check out the water quality of your local river, lake, or beach at www.lawa.org.nz.

enough to protect the ecological health of rivers and lakes.

We will be making submissions to that effect during the consultation process. The Government’s Clean Water plan is open for consultation until 28 April.

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Forest & Bird

| 11

Cover story

BOOM OR BUST Is coal mining in New Zealand a sunset industry or a phoenix rising? By Jane Young

T

he last two decades have been a rollercoaster ride for environmentalists fighting against the expansion of New Zealand coal mining, with surges of renewed optimism alternating with troughs of despair.

State-owned Solid Energy may have collapsed, but four privately owned mining companies have recently snaffled up its assets for a song. The biggest player in the Solid Energy fire sale is Bathurst Resources, whose joint venture with asset-rich Talleys could see increased output from existing mines and mothballed mines reopened. But this will only happen if the recent rise in coal prices lasts long enough to make them economic (more of this later).

Meanwhile, a new opencast mine is proposed on pristine public reserve land at Te Kuha just behind Westport (see overleaf) and another opencast mine is earmarked for Panirau near Mokau, in Taranaki.

To understand the current threats to the environment from a possible resurgence in coal mining, we need to look back at the fortunes of Solid Energy over the past two decades – its fall, rise, and subsequent demise – and the zombie-like survival of its body parts.

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| Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao

State-owned coal mining company Solid Energy was in serious trouble in 2000, but then came the Chinese economic boom and new CEO Don Elder managed to turn its fortunes around. The company was able to show a good profit until 2012, when things started to become unstuck.

Solid Energy was encouraged to plough profits and borrowings into ambitious diversification ventures, such as the Southland lignite scheme that promised to convert millions of tonnes of dirty brown coal into diesel, fertiliser, and briquettes.

Even before the Southland lignite venture, Solid Energy had already crossed swords with environmentalists. The huge Stockton mine on the West Coast, for example, was slated for its poor water quality performance. The company itself admitted, “In the past, some of our mining activities have fallen well short of environmental best practices.”

And there was strong – but ultimately unsuccessful – opposition to Solid Energy’s 2005 plans to extend its operations on the Stockton Plateau by levelling the Mt Augustus ridgeline, developing the Cypress mine in Happy Valley, and obtaining consents to mine nearby Mt William.

Devastation at Bathurst’s Escarpment mine on the once pristine Denniston Plateau (left and bottom). The mine was mothballed in 2016 after coal prices dropped. Photos: Neil Silverwood

after failed ventures in Australia and the US, a company called Bathurst Resources had turned its sights on New Zealand. It acquired two (and eventually three) opencast, thermal coal South Island mines and permits over huge areas of the Denniston and Buller Plateaus on the West Coast. Resource consent applications for Denniston Plateau (the 190ha Escarpment mine) were duly lodged with local councils.

The Minister for Conservation declined to oppose the planned devastation of the rare ecosystems of the Denniston Plateau, but the legal cudgels were taken up

by Forest & Bird, the West Coast Environment Network, and, initially, Whareatea residents. The three-year battle failed to stop the mine going ahead, but the campaign did secure important environmental concessions and the mine was reduced in size. Bathurst, by now headquartered in Wellington, announced that mining would begin in 2014.

But it didn’t. Bathurst started work on the site, but

by February plummeting coking coal prices forced the company to cut costs and delay the ramping up of coal production. Destruction of the Denniston Plateau continued as mine infrastructure was constructed, but by mid-2015 the company was still operating at a loss and the share price had slipped below two cents. By the end of the year, Bathurst decided to close the nearby Cascade mine, and in March 2016 the Escarpment mine was mothballed resulting in further job losses.

You’d expect that, in these circumstances, there wouldn’t be anyone lining up for permission to start a new coal mine. Wrong.

There are plans to remove the stunning and ecologically rare Te Kuha ridgeline behind Westport to make way for a 100ha opencast mine that will be visible to tourists travelling through the iconic Buller Gorge.

A gesture in the direction of remediation involved the collection of 6000 giant snails from Mt Augustus and their attempted translocation. The destruction of their habitat attracted less media attention than did the death of 800 of their number in a malfunctioning DOC fridge.

Coal Action Network Aotearoa (CANA) organised its first Summer Festival in 2012. Campers in a chilly Southland sheep paddock near the New Vale lignite mine were anticipating a long drawn-out struggle against Solid Energy’s grandiose plans. But a year later it became evident that, largely because of economic factors and mismanagement, Solid Energy was crumbling.

Coal activists remarked with ill-concealed glee on the shiny $30 million briquetting plant that was now gathering dust. There was more sympathy for the unemployed miners, however, as both North and South Island jobs were shed as mines were closed or production cut back.

By August 2015, Solid Energy and its myriad of subsidiaries were placed in “voluntary” administration.

There might be a few quacks left, but essentially it was a dead duck.

Environmentalists, however, were under no delusions that the sun had set on New Zealand coal mining. In 2010,

Cover story Local and national politicians are predictably keen to see Te Kuha go ahead, viewing it as a source of jobs and increased economic activity. (Sound familiar?)

In September 2016, Buller District Council announced it would allow mining on the reserve land, which is held for water conservation purposes. Last month Forest & Bird requested a judicial review of the decision.

And in the North Island, Mokau South Resources wants to develop Panirau, an opencast, thermal coal mine in a Crown-owned area of regenerating bush 10km south-east of Mokau in Taranaki. The company is hoping to export the coal, despite the sulphur content being so high that it is unlikely to be acceptable for export markets.

And don’t forget that Bathurst has never relinquished its grandiose vision of “The Buller Project”, which would eventually encompass up to eight mines on the plateau.

The application for a mining permit for Whareatea West, intended to be the next mine off the block, is currently under evaluation by NZ Petroleum & Minerals.

For Bathurst, it’s still a gamble. But for New Zealand, it’s a dead cert that more mining will equate with more environmental destruction. We will richly deserve to be first in line for a “Fossil of the Day” award at the Bonn 2017 Climate Change Conference if the sun doesn’t very soon start setting on our coal mining industry.

Where next for coal prices?

At the beginning of 2016, conservationists could take comfort from the news of rock-bottom coal prices – especially for coking coal – and contracting markets. But if there’s one predictable feature of coal markets it’s their unpredictability. By November 2016, thermal coal prices had risen 130%, and coking coal prices had surged 240% over a 12-month period. The increases were driven by a number of factors, including the Chinese Government’s determination to reduce oversupply from its own mines. It remains to be seen how large and dramatic the inevitable downswing will be, but even short-term increases in coal profitability reduce our chances of reining in climate change.

In November 2016, Bathurst announced it had formed a joint venture, called “Phoenix Coal” (then renamed BT Mining in Dec 2016), with recently formed Talley’s Energy in order to pick the eyes out of the Solid Energy assets.

(Well, they didn’t put it quite like that.)

Bathurst has always been ambition-rich but cash-poor, so Talley’s financial support was essential for the deal to go through, even at bargain-basement prices. The package, which costs $46 million in cash, plus a contingent payment of no more than $50 million if coal prices hold up, includes all the operating assets of the Stockton mine (with Cypress, Upper Waimangaroa, and the adjacent Mt William North thrown in for good measure) – plus the Rotowaro and Maramarua mines near Huntly in the North Island.

This means the coal industry in New Zealand is being supported by two of the country’s biggest food producers, Talleys and Fonterra. Without Fonterra, the second-largest consumer of thermal coal in New Zealand, Bathurst would be unlikely to have kept afloat long enough to form the alliance with Talleys needed to purchase Solid Energy mines.

South Otago Forest & Birder Jane Young is a former science teacher who lives in the Catlins, where she spends most of her time writing, editing, and growing native plants. Her current writing project is Fuelling Dissension: NZ coal mining in the 21st century.

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| Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao

The Coal Action Network held its 2017 Summerfest in Ashburton. Not so coincidentally, this was just up the road from Fonterra’s huge Clandeboye plant, which burns about 180,000 tonnes of coal a year. Photo: Shannon Gilmore

Time to protect what’s left Forest & Bird says it’s time to protect the outstanding landscapes of the Buller and Denniston Plateaus for good.

Chief Executive Kevin Hague says: “We’ve already lost so much to the boom and bust coal industry. Isn’t it time to protect what’s left?”

“Take Happy Valley, for example, conservationists lost their campaign to save this amazing landscape and now the area has been destroyed. They’ve exported a small amount of coal, but it hasn’t been the boom for local jobs that was promised.”

Meanwhile the price of coal and its future demand looks uncertain.

Fonterra, our second largest user of coal, recently signalled its intention to start moving away from fossil fuel.

“As a responsible corporate citizen, we too believe a transition away from coal will be the only sustainable future for dairy production,” a spokesperson told news website stuff.co.nz earlier this year.

And President Donald Trump has promised to open up new coal mines, which would put downwards pressure on coal prices internationally.

Given this uncertainty, why would anyone want to approve new coal mining permits on public conservation land with high natural values? Especially when existing opencast mines on the Denniston Plateau lie mothballed?

Te Kuha’s not for taming Forest & Bird is taking legal action to try to stop a proposed mine at Te Kuha, one of the West Coast’s last untamed wildernesses.

By Caroline Wood. Photos by Neil Silverwood.

Proposed mining permit area.

The pristine upper slopes of the Papahua Range will be significantly modified by the proposed Te Kuha mine, which includes hilltop removal and the destruction of ancient trees over 500 years old.

Cut here for Te Kuha opencast mine

Forest & Bird

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Cover story

The proposed Te Kuha mine permit area has very high ecological and conservation values according to DOC. It includes elevated coal measure habitat recognised as being nationally and internationally unique. An access road will be built over an untouched landscape. Westport is visible in the distance, top right.

T

he West Coast is marketing itself to tourists as New Zealand’s last “Untamed Natural Wilderness”, and yet government agencies, including the Department of Conservation, are poised to approve a massive opencast coal mine at Te Kuha above the iconic Buller Gorge.

If it goes ahead, the top of a stunning ridgeline visible from Westport will be removed. Almost 100ha of land held by the Buller District Council as a water conservation area plus around 12ha of public conservation land will disappear as diggers rip up pristine podocarp and beech forest, and one of the last remnants of rare coal measure habitat on the Buller Plateau.

The mine site (to the left of the river) will be visible from the entrance to the Lower Buller Gorge. The popular tourist route is marketed as a scenic gateway to the West Coast.

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| Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao

The land is home to threatened bird and lizard species, including great spotted kiwi, fernbirds, the New Zealand pipit, the West Coast green gecko, and at least one plant threatened with extinction, a species of eyebright.

Te Kuha is just seven kilometres from Bathurst’s Escarpment mine that was built on publicly owned conservation land on the Denniston Plateau. The area was once as untouched as Te Kuha. Today it lies abandoned, a victim of New Zealand’s boom and bust coal industry.

Workers have been laid off, and piles of worthless coal have been dumped alongside rusty vehicles.

Forest & Bird’s regional manager Jen Miller says: “This is yet another example of nature being ‘up for grabs’. Our natural heritage, held in public reserves, is being turned over to developers for private gain.”

The Te Kuha opencast mine will be visible from the Lower Buller Gorge, a popular tourist highway and gateway to the West Coast.

Kevin Hackwell, Forest & Bird’s campaigns and advocacy manager, said: “It’s a very significant area, it’s at the end of the Buller Gorge, it has very high conservation values, and it is on a very popular tourist route. The views over the ridge from the Buller Gorge Road, taking in the sweep of the untouched beech and podocarp forests, are magnificent.

“Many Kiwis will recognise this iconic vista that will be lost forever under plans to take the top off the hillside to get at the coal seam beneath.

“The proposed Te Kuha mine site should be part of the Lower Buller Scenic Reserve if it is not going to be used for future-proofing the Westport township’s water supply.”

Forest & Bird’s West Coast branch secretary Clare Backes said: “Te Kuha is an area of pristine mature podocarp forest, and the removal of this forest would have a very significant impact on the ecology and biodiversity of the area.”

Tourism West Coast’s new branding is Untamed Natural Wilderness – but the scar from Te Kuha will be visible from Westport and the Buller Gorge, making a mockery of the slogan.

“The West Coast needs to be working towards a more sustainable economy, and we desperately need a transition away from coal mining.

“Opening a new coal mine on the coast will have negative environmental effects locally and globally, especially in the light of climate change being one of our most pressing issues.”

Rare plants, lizards, and birds call the Te Kuha wilderness home

LEGAL CASE LAUNCHED

The Te Kuha opencast mine will be visible from Westport.

Buller District Council has granted access to Rangatira Developments Ltd to develop an opencast coal mine on nearly 100ha of public water conservation reserve.

Forest & Bird believes the council has not appropriately applied section 23 of the Reserves Act 1977, which requires the Council to administer the water conservation reserve in a manner consistent with its purpose.

In February, Forest & Bird sought a judicial review of the council’s decision.

Rangatira Developments is also waiting on approval to access 12ha of public conservation land within the mine footprint.

“We will be watching with interest to see what the Department of Conservation decides in this case, given their own experts describe the area as having pristine natural values,” says West Coast regional manager Jen Miller.

“Conservation legislation is not being defended. DOC should be fighting to stop opencast mines being built on land with very high biodiversity values.”

Westport water supply actual catchment 1

Ballarat Conservation Area

Mt Rochford Conservation Area

Buller River Scenic Reserve Iconic Buller Gorge (popular tourist route)

This 3-D map shows the Te Kuha mine permit area and the location of public conservation land around it, including the iconic Buller Gorge.

The yellow line is the mining permit 41289 that covers 860ha. The initial mine only covers a small amount of this area, approx 100ha, at the top of the hill by 1. This includes 12ha of public conservation land in Mt Rochford Conservation Area.

Information source: LINZ/creative commons

Forest & Bird

| 17

Cover story Reserve land in Auckland's Point England could be sold off for housing. Photo: Shaun Lee

Protection not profit Forest & Bird is fighting to stop New Zealand’s public conservation land being sold off to developers for private gain. By Caroline Wood Too much of our natural heritage, currently held in public reserves, is being turned over to developers for private gain.

Recently, we have seen a raft of proposed mining, housing, and infrastructure projects that involve the loss of protected reserve or stewardship land with high conservation and biodiversity values.

Forest & Bird is concerned that New Zealand’s wild places are increasingly being seen as being “open for business”. That the Government and local councils seem to think our publicly owned and protected natural areas are able to be exploited and utilised for commercial uses, rather than conservation.

Forest & Bird is fighting to stop this happening in courts and council chambers around the country, but we have limited resources to do this. Time is running out because once the specially protected land is developed, it is gone for good.

Last month, our legal team was in the Supreme Court trying to stop 22ha of specially protected conservation land from being legally downgraded so the land can be flooded as part of the $300 million Ruataniwha water storage scheme in the Hawke’s Bay. We believe the Minister of Conservation wants to set a precedent with this case so other protected public conservation land can be downgraded and provided to economic developments.

Forest & Bird’s Chief executive Kevin Hague said: “We are in a situation where many of the places we love and hold dear are being seen as being up for grabs.

“These are places that have been put aside primarily for conservation and are protected by environmental legislation. They belong to us all and should be protected forever.

“Private interests say let’s use this high value conservation land, whether it be to mine, flood, or build on it. But we say there is plenty of other land available for development.”

In law, under section 25 of the Conservation Act, 18

| Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao

stewardship land shall “...be so managed that its natural and historic resources are protected”.

But, increasingly, we can see that this is not happening.

For example, last December, the Government announced its intention to lift the public reserve status on 12ha of land in Point England, Auckland, and sell it for a housing development. This would destroy the primary roosting habitat of up to 90% of the remaining wild shorebirds in the Tāmaki Estuary, including the New Zealand dotterel, godwit, shore plover, and royal spoonbill.

Forest & Bird is taking legal action to defend Point England and is also trying to stop another housing development that threatens to affect Okura Scenic Reserve (see p20).

We are also concerned about the potential privatisation of New Zealand’s iconic Great Walks, the proposed HaastHollyford Road and Wangapeka road link, the Waitaha River hydro scheme, and the ongoing loss of Canterbury’s braided river margins, among many other examples.

“We are not anti-development. We just want the action to fit the ‘sustainability’ rhetoric,” added Kevin Hague.

“We must protect nature, not destroy it to make a quick buck.”

Nature’s not for sale Are you worried about the loss of protected public conservation land? We value our independence, but it means we have to raise every dollar we spend.

Please help us stop our natural heritage from being exploited for private gain.

Donate today at www. forestandbird.org.nz/notforsale and help us fight back.

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23/02/17 3:05 pm

Biodiversity in crisis Okura Bush Scenic Reserve is under pressure with developers wanting to build hundreds of houses on its borders.

Death by a thousand consents What is the future for nature reserves in and around Auckland? Will they thrive or be lost under a deluge of new homes? By Pat Baskett. Photos by Martin Sanders.

Most of us are aware that, globally, the sixth extinction is under way – the result of transgressing planetary boundaries, including climate change. The tragedy is that we in New Zealand are contributing to the process – despite the heroic efforts of thousands of volunteers who give money and time to community-based conservation projects throughout the country.

This situation is exemplified on the fringes of Auckland’s North Shore, where 500 houses have been approved on the northern perimeter of the Okura Bush Scenic Reserve and behind the adjoining Long Bay-Okura Marine Reserve.

Green fields on the southern side are subject to an appeal

by Todd Development for the construction of more than 1000 houses.

The Okura Reserve is 141 hectares of mature secondary growth coastal forest that includes several ancient puriri, a lovely stand of tall nikau, and two enormous kauri that miraculously avoided destruction. Most is owned by the Department of Conservation, but the northern section, including a strip of beach called Karepiro Bay along the shore of the marine reserve, belongs to Auckland Council.

The 4.5km Okura Bush track is Auckland’s most frequented walk. DOC estimates that up to 70,000 people visited it last year.

A little over three years ago, Okura neighbours formed Friends of Okura (FOOB). With the support of Forest & Bird North Shore, membership quickly spread to the wider 20

| Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao

community, and volunteers were found to lay and regularly monitor more than 400 traps. Their catches, since the programme began, total more than 1700 rats, 3000 mice, 115 weasels and stoats, and 360 possums.

Catch numbers are forwarded to the statistics department of Auckland University where they are incorporated into a programme called CatchIT and integrated into the results of similar projects in other parts of the country.

The signs of rejuvenating biodiversity are hugely encouraging: a beautiful green pregnant female forest gecko (Mokopirirakau granulatus) has been photographed; birdsong has increased; four tomtits and a brown quail have been sighted, along with a possible North Island robin; a pair of banded dotterels has joined their New Zealand relatives, which nest at Karepiro Bay – where a flock of about 80 godwits spends the summer.

Undergrowth is flourishing, and a native fuschia – proof of fewer possums – has been identified.

Encouraged by these signs of success, FOOB has raised $37,000, including donations and grants from Weiti station, which adjoins the reserve, from the Hibiscus and Bays Community Board, and from the Environment Initiatives Fund. These funds will be used to increase the numbers of traps and to extend them around the perimeter of the reserve – in the hope that enough people will participate in a roster to monitor them.

Another small group of volunteers regularly battles the weeds that invade from the adjoining station where, after a commercial pine forest was logged, the land lies open to infestation.

The vision of a predator-free precinct coincides with that of Predator-Free New Zealand and the current government’s commitment to rid the country of pests by 2050. The realisation of such a vision, and of so many other community-based conservation projects, depends not only on the availability of volunteers but also on funding from philanthropic foundations.

It’s a fragile position with an inherent contradiction.

Marie Brown points out in her book Vanishing Nature the dangers of “agency priorities being determined more by corporate brand alignment and what businesses are willing to fund,” rather than by “conservation needs, some of which may be incompatible with corporate interests”.

What, then, is likely to be the future of Auckland’s Okura Bush Reserve and of other similar pockets of biodiversity?

At best (or rather second-best), corporate sponsors will be found to build a predator-proof fence along the boundary between the reserve and the neighbouring expansion of Auckland’s suburbs. The Okura bush will be a living museum, like other loved and tended reserves, through which people will walk, marvelling at what once was and which now only exists as jewels in a scarred and spoiled landscape.

At worst, the numbers of volunteers will be sporadic, predators will increase, more cats will escape from the nearby houses, kauri dieback will cause at least one of the old trees to tumble along with hundreds of younger ones, and all the dotterels and many other shore birds will disappear. The bush walk will still be a walk beneath trees, but a bird-less one, similar to isolated pockets of covenanted bush in landscapes dominated by suburbs, mono-cropping, or animal farming. The worst-worst scenario, of course, needs to factor in the unimaginable

The UN ranks New Zealand as worst for the protection of threatened species, such as this New Zealand dotterel at Long BayOkura Marine Reserve.

effects of climate change wreaking havoc on all our lives.

FOOB’s vision depends on people working not only together but also in partnership with DOC, on whom the ultimate responsibility lies. How much easier this would be if DOC were properly funded to do what volunteers struggle to achieve? In the most-best future, the paradigm has changed: government policies recognise that the economy depends on the environment, that ecological wellbeing is synonymous with human wellbeing, and that environmental degradation has become a cost in a real system of accounting.

The most-best scenario sees the Okura bush as an integral part of the North-West Wildlink corridor with species such as saddlebacks, bellbirds, and stitchbirds expanding across the mainland from Tiritiri Matangi Island to the west coast. Wild cats no longer threaten its biodiversity because any new housing allows room for wildlife as well as people, to the benefit of both. There probably will still be a predator-proof fence – rodents, mustelids, and possums are wily survivors.

We urgently need this new paradigm – the UN ranks New Zealand as worst for the protection of threatened species. The future for Okura and so many nature reserves is precarious as long as the government abrogates its role as the major guardian of our natural heritage. *Pat Baskett is a retired New Zealand Herald feature writer and long-term Forest & Bird member.

Forest & Bird has joined with the Long Bay Okura Great Parks Society to oppose the building of 1000 new houses on the estuary banks by Okura Holdings Ltd (a division of Todd Properties). Our legal team is supporting Auckland Council’s decision not to allow this development to occur.

Weiti block housing development at the north end of Okura bush walkway

Please help Forest & Bird defend nature by making a donation today: http://www.forestandbird.org.nz/ defendnature.

Forest & Bird

| 21

Bequest Grant and Marilyn Nelson

People who care

about the world they leave behind

New Zealand’s environment has received a wonderful gift from two dedicated conservationists. Caroline Wood talks to Grant & Marilyn Nelson to discover what prompted their $5 million donation to Forest & Bird.

“It seems to us that Forest & Bird is often up against those who want to use their money and influence to exploit the environment for short-term profits. It can be costly to oppose these vested interests and carry out other conservation work, and we wanted to help.”

A softly spoken Grant Nelson explains why he and his wife Marilyn decided to donate $5 million to set up Forest & Bird’s largest-ever endowment fund, which will primarily support the campaign for freshwater and legal advocacy work (see the panel right).

Harts Creek is a privately enhanced and restored wetland on the shores of Lake Ellesmere that is open to the public. Lake Ellesmere is an internationally significant wetland but suffers greatly from agricultural pollution. Photo: Steve Attwood

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| Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao

The Nelsons have been members of Forest & Bird for 20 years and served on the North Canterbury branch committee for a decade. They also happen to run The Gama Foundation, a philanthropic trust that has donated millions of dollars to conservation, education, and other charitable causes.

Grant, 69, who was born with very low vision and has been legally blind for most of his life, explains how the couple moved from being young entrepreneurs to charitable benefactors in less than 20 years.

The Nelsons set up a small business from home in 1978 after Grant was forced to give up his job because of his deteriorating sight. The business grew into a thriving company selling building products nationwide. By the 1990s, the couple were working 24/7 on the business and they were ready for a change of pace, says Marilyn, 64.

“In 1995, we had the opportunity to sell and decided to take a different direction in life. The proceeds from the business were used to set up The Gama Foundation and since then we have devoted our time to the work of the trust,“ she explains.

After selling their business, Marilyn and Grant, who live in Christchurch, joined their local Forest & Bird branch and got more involved in local conservation projects.

“We always had an appreciation for native bush and concerns about conservation but were never able to do anything about it because we didn’t have time,” says Grant.

Making a difference One of their earliest projects was to pay for the predator-free fence around Riccarton Bush in Christchurch.

Over time, the couple also bought 650ha of land in the Port Hills, and elsewhere in Canterbury, and gifted the land to the public.

Marilyn explains: “There is little remaining lowland native bush in Canterbury, so over a number of years our trust purchased various size blocks that had interesting features. After putting in signs and tracks, these blocks were opened to the public.”

But living in Canterbury, where the pollution of lakes and rivers is a significant issue, the Nelsons became increasingly worried about the state of New Zealand’s freshwater.

“Over the past 15 years we have been very concerned about the impacts of intensive farming on rivers, lakes, and drinking water aquifers. As the contamination of freshwater is going to get steadily worse over many decades, we have requested that part of the income received [from the endowment fund] be used to employ a freshwater advocate,” says Grant.

The couple says they would rather give their money to good causes than spend it on expensive houses and holidays. And, as they approach retirement, they have decided to distribute the rest of their trust fund to the charitable organisations they have been involved with in the past.

By the time they retire, Grant estimates they will have given away an incredible $50m of their own money, including the hugely generous $5m gift to Forest & Bird.

They are sharing their story in the hope it might inspire others to make a donation. “Forest & Bird was formed to try to protect forest and birds, but it has ended up having to do far more than this. We encourage anyone wanting to support Forest & Bird to make a gift or bequest,” says Grant.

Forest & Bird’s Chief Executive Kevin Hague says the Nelsons’ gift will make a big difference to our freshwater advocacy.

He said: “Grant and Marilyn’s astounding generosity will fund vital conservation work that couldn’t otherwise have been done – in particular, increased campaigning to highlight the perilous state of New Zealand’s freshwater. Our rivers, estuaries, and lakes are going to benefit from this extraordinary gift.

“The Grant & Marilyn Nelson Endowment Fund will grow and, in time, will help fund work that will change the face of conservation in this country. That is an incredible legacy to leave to nature in New Zealand.

“At Forest & Bird, we are proud of our independence.

But we only have this because of our supporters. There is a real advantage to this independence because it means we can stand up for nature without fear of the consequences. But what’s hard is we have to raise every dollar we use to give nature a voice. We have to fundraise for everything.

“Nature is in big trouble in New Zealand, and Grant and Marilyn recognise that. They understand the scale of the task ahead of us. I’m humbled by their generosity.”

Giant irrigators on farmland in North Canterbury.

Photo: Caroline Wood

A fund for the future The Grant & Marilyn Nelson Endowment Fund was set up with their gift of $5m. The annual interest will be used to employ a full-time staff member to advocate and campaign for improvements in the quality and quantity of freshwater in streams, rivers, lakes, and aquifers. At least one-third of this work will relate to the Canterbury area.

As it can be expensive to mount legal challenges, some of the income will be set aside for a legal fighting fund, to be used when needed. Other income will be used to promote conservation and environmental protection to elected representatives and officials.

If there is sufficient income, another priority will be to employ someone to promote greater pest and weed control, including the control of feral pigs, deer, and goats.

LEAVING A LEGACY If you would like to find out Giant kahikatea thrive in Riccarton’s Bush. The Nelsons paid for a predator-proof fence to protect this important remnant forest in the heart of Christchurch. Photo: Caroline Wood

more about making a bequest or endowment to Forest & Bird, please call Jess Winchester on 04 8012219 or email legacy@forestandbird.org.nz.

Forest & Bird

| 23

The Big Read

I am the river and the river is me

Do PÄ kehÄ conservationists need to adjust their way of thinking in light of the world-leading framework that recognises the Whanganui River as a legal person?

Melanie Nelson explores the values and concepts that underpin Te Awa Tupua.

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| Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao

“The greatest challenge environmentally speaking is to change who we are as people and the way in which we share the world,” says Gerrard Albert, Chairperson of Ngā Tāngata Tiaki o Whanganui.

He is talking about the impending Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River Claims Settlement) Act – a globally significant piece of legislation that provides a new way of addressing environmental issues through the world view of an area’s indigenous people.

Aotearoa New Zealand’s longest navigable river will be recognised as a legal person, Te Awa Tupua, with its own set of intrinsic values (see overleaf). The river will be able to speak for itself and even litigate in the name of Te Awa Tupua. The Crown and iwi will jointly appoint two people to the completely independent role of Te Pou Tupua, the human face of Te Awa Tupua.

The settlement is based within a mātauranga Māori (traditional Māori knowledge) framework.

Gerrard explains: “At its heart, the Whanganui River settlement is an environmental settlement, based on affording the river its own status, and refocusing the community around the awa/river as a whole, as opposed to the compartments that have divided it for over a century.

The point is to approximate at law what the river is to us in kawa/custom – a living tupuna/ancestor, not an inanimate, lifeless resource to be used without regard to its mana.

“Tribally speaking, the river is something that’s part of us and defines our relationship to one another. Before deciding to use the awa, your train of thought is always focused on what you’re going to give back.”

Jacinta Ruru, University of Otago Law Professor and Co-Director of Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga/New Zealand’s Māori Centre of Research Excellence, says that, although some countries have given the environment its own personality in a constitutional context, New Zealand was first to put it into law, initially in 2014 with Te Urewera and now the Whanganui River.

She says: “This is globally significant. It demonstrates that we have an alternative way to embrace an indigenous world view that can still make sense and play out within a state legal system. It builds significantly on a long legacy of incredible Treaty of Waitangi settlements that work towards a reconciled future, a respectful way to embrace and engage with tangata whenua.”

Jacinta sees this as very different to a Western construct of owning, governing, and managing land.

She says: “The river has its own personality, values, Law professor Jacinta Ruru

and being, which completely changes how government will engage with it. This will show New Zealand a way of caring for and valuing water important to tangata whenua and the nation which is different to the co-governance and co-management notions we have seen to date.”

The settlement provides a new lens through which to view the river, and this must now be at the forefront of governance and management decisions for the river. As Gerrard Albert says: “It’s a lens and a language we have used over many generations, and we need to teach others so they can understand what the status of Te Awa Tupua means. If you speak to the awa and people are working with the awa, you can make better decisions.”

Gerrard explains that, previously, the river has been defined and governed according to values foreign to Whanganui iwi.

“The late Sir Archie Taiaroa [Whanganui iwi leader] and others would totally negate the concept of kaitiakitanga as it applies under the Resource Management Act, that custodianship belongs solely to a physical person. In our world view, the true kaitiaki, the mouri/life forces are still in the river, at each rapid.

This culturally and spiritually based ethos determines our relationship with the river, our world view, and guides our decisions. We’re not masters of the environment, we’re Gerrard Albert, Te Awa Tupua part of it and need to make negotiator and Chairperson decisions based on the best of Ngā Tāngata Tiaki o Whanganui. interest of the resource.”

This will require a significant shift in thinking from the dominant world view. And government bodies, community groups, and others will need to take this on board.

Horizons Regional Council's Group Manager for Strategy & Regulation Dr Nic Peet recognises the unknowns ahead, but said the council is looking forward to a journey with Whanganui iwi that takes them in a direction where they talk with Te Awa Tupua rather than about it.

He describes Horizons as an organisation of statute that develops science to inform policy, establish rules, and implement plans.

“This will challenge us to think about things in a different way, then marry up RMA-driven processes with something that’s more intrinsic and fundamental, about the rights and values of the river. It will be an interesting and exciting challenge for us – not many people in the world will have the opportunity to try and work through how that happens.”

Te Awa Tupua is a modern term with ancient origins, coined not as a new name for the river but to represent the spiritual and physical river that Whanganui iwi have understood and lived with for 1000+ years.

Forest & Bird

| 25

The Big Read Although we don’t yet know what practical changes will result from the Te Awa Tupua Settlement, Jacinta Ruru believes it will be significant for the environment. She says the current legal process is not overly embracing of Māori values when it comes to decisions about balancing values with developmental use. This means Māori often lose when trying to protect land and water from the consequences of resource consents. She considers that New Zealanders can be proud of this opportunity for a new type of decisionmaking and understanding.

She explains: “Everyone is really brave and bold to be embracing this – it’s exactly what we need to really shift our thinking. It represents a real opportunity for us to rethink how we, as a country, seek to care for land and water. We must now recognise and value that Māori hapū, whānau, iwi have solutions for us as a country for the regeneration of the lifeforce of whenua/lands and awa throughout the country.”

She thinks this is where we will see environmental impact and success coming through in the future – appreciating that those solutions are completely integral and tied up in a Māori way of understanding place.

“Decision-makers now can’t ignore this. It must be embraced at the forefront for us as a country.”

Whanganui Department of Conservation Manager Jasmine Hessell acknowledges the importance of the settlement, particularly the full recognition of the significance of the awa to tangata whenua. DOC recognises Te Awa Tupua as a national priority for freshwater protection, consistent with its aim to restore 50 freshwater ecosystems from the mountains to the sea. Key issues for both Whanganui iwi and Horizons are land use, sediment loads, and erosion.

The core values of Te Awa Tupua relate to having a healthy river and healthy communities that surround it, which aligns with Horizons’ vision of the region being a great place to live, work, and play.

“You’ll have all the people in the catchment who have an influence around the table to talk to each other. It can only DOC recognises Te Awa drive enhanced environmental Tupua as a national priority and conservation outcomes for for freshwater protection says Jasmine Hessell the catchment,” adds Nic Peet.

Practical conservation outcomes will be supported by funding through the settlement, including a $30 million contestable fund for projects relating to the environmental, social, cultural, and economic health and well-being of Te Awa Tupua.

What happens next?

The Te Awa Tupua Bill has received broad cross-party support in Parliament and is inclusive of the range of iwi with interests in the Whanganui River. It is due to be enacted into law later this year. Then a wide-ranging group of interests and agencies will be tasked to collectively produce a catchment strategy.

Gerrard Albert explains: “The whole community needs to gather around its river – the nature and pace of change is up to the community to determine, but change is inevitable under this. It forces us to have the conversations we need to about what’s best for the iwi, hapū, community, and ultimately the focus is, of course, on achieving the best for the river.”

There are many complex Dr Nic Peet from Horizons pressures to be addressed, and Council acknowledges the Gerrard believes that, if the river challenges ahead. is going to survive, we have to deal with both local and global challenges such as climate change. “We’re all in the same pot here, but that doesn’t limit the iwi’s status and mana – it enhances it together with the community rather than establishing something that’s an opposing force to the current governance and management arrangements.”

Nic Peet says the settlement is very generous in trying to make the future one of community involvement with keeping the river healthy. “The journey of figuring all that out will be as important as where you finally end up,” he says.

While the way ahead is through unnavigated waters dotted with rapids, the open and inclusive way that iwi and other organisations are already speaking bodes well for Te Awa Tupua.

As Jacinta Ruru says: “The law and policy don’t really matter in the end. It’s the intention and aspirations, the collaboration building good, strong, respectful relationships, which will matter for this place and all places.”

Melanie Nelson is a fluent Pākehā speaker of te reo Māori with a background in conservation. She specialises in cross-cultural matters as a freelance writer, strategist, facilitator, trainer, and translator. See www.melanienelson.co.nz.

In the next issue, Melanie looks at what is happening in Te Urewera, three years after the national park was disestablished and Te Urewera recognised as a legal entity.

26

| Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao

Rights of the river T

upua te Kawa is a set of four intrinsic values enshrined for Te Awa Tupua, essentially rights for the river. Although framed by distinctively Whanganui iwi concepts, they are inclusive of the wider river community’s values. The community will be part of determining the strategy and actions.

Jacinta Ruru says the idea of “intrinsic value”, which was introduced to New Zealand conservation legislation in the 1980s, contributes significantly to understanding the conservation estate. She sees Tupua te Kawa as a further development showing us a uniquely Aotearoa New Zealand way of understanding the intrinsic value of places that are important to us as a country.

“Nationally and globally, this shows tangibly in law what intrinsic value means in a way that is respectful of the indigenous peoples.”

Gerrard Albert gives an overview of the four intrinsic values of Tupua te Kawa:

Ko te awa te mātāpuna o te ora – the river is the source of spiritual and physical sustenance

It is fundamentally important to recognise the river as the source of life. However, in the past, the full expression of hapū and iwi mana and association with the river has been inhibited by statutes and one-sided decisions relating to only the physical river.

E rere kau mai te awa nui mai i te Kāhui Maunga ki Tangaroa – the great river flows from the mountains to the sea The river must now be addressed as a whole, including all tributaries and its physical and metaphysical elements.

Statutes have created disjointed governance and management compartments, which has worked against the health and well-being of the river.

Ko au te awa ko te awa ko au – I am the river and the river is me Hapū and iwi throughout the catchment have an inalienable relationship with, and responsibility for, Te Awa Tupua, which must be provided for. This goes beyond consultation and the accepted norms for engagement with tangata whenua. The interdependence of hapū and iwi with the river is now part of its legal definition.

Ngā manga iti, ngā manga nui e honohono kau ana, ka tupu hei awa tupua – the small and the large streams that flow into one another and form one river The community as a whole must take responsibility for the health and well-being of the river and work it out together. There is a new definition for making decisions, which must be oriented around Te Awa Tupua rather than separate statutory boundaries, roles, or responsibilities.

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09 307 8005 fullers.co.nz Forest & Bird

| 27

Nature’s resilience

Lessons from

Kaikoura

View from the Hutton’s shearwater back-up colony at Te Rae O Atiu.

Photo: Ailsa Howard

Caitlin Carew finds out how the Hutton’s shearwater population at Kaikoura has fared since the devastating earthquake.

Once the dust settled from last November’s 7.8 magnitude earthquake, worrying news began to come in about the impact of the quake on Kaikoura’s famous wildlife.

As well as the impact on marine mammals and shellfish, there was distressing news about a large slip affecting the largest Hutton’s shearwater breeding colony at Kowhai stream, high in a valley of the seaward Kaikoura range.

Another slip affected the smaller mountain colony at Shearwater stream.

The slopes remain unstable, and this has made it difficult to gain an accurate assessment of the situation, but it is estimated that about 20–40% of burrows have been lost. Unfortunately, as the quake occurred during breeding season, adult birds as well as eggs would have been swept away.

This scenario was envisaged in Forest & Bird’s 2016 Important Bird Areas report, which predicted that a landslide caused by geological event could affect 10–49% of the population, depending on the time of year.

Hutton’s shearwaters breed only in Kaikoura, and

One of this year’s chicks. Photo: Ailsa Howard

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| Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao

following a dramatic fall in numbers in recent decades because of predation by wild animals their threat status is “declining”. Those who work with the birds have long been aware of their vulnerability, and this prompted a shift in thinking about how best to ensure their survival.

“We realised we needed an insurance colony, in case of a fire or earthquake in the mountains,” recalls Geoff Harrow, who first discovered the mountain nesting sites of Hutton’s shearwaters and worked to protect them for 50 years.

This foresight led to chicks being translocated to an alternative site on the Kaikoura peninsula. The Hutton’s Shearwater Charitable Trust was established in 2008 and raised money to build a predator-proof fence at the new site, named Te Rae o Atiu.

The trust, with the help of many volunteers, has worked tirelessly since then to translocate chicks to the new colony, where they are housed in artificial burrows and fed sardine smoothies until they fledge, hopefully to return one day to breed.

Fortunately, the Te Rae o Atiu colony escaped unscathed in the earthquake. And they have had some much needed good news.

“Twelve chicks hatched this year. It’s been our best breeding season so far,” says Ailsa Howard, secretary of the Hutton’s Shearwater Charitable Trust. ”One of these chicks is a second-generation chick – the grandchild of two adults that were translocated from the Kowhai stream colony, marking an important milestone.”

About 60 birds are using the insurance colony, and there is capacity for up to 3000 burrows and 10,000 birds.

With the peninsula colony starting to establish, the future for the Hutton’s shearwaters is brighter that it might otherwise have been, thanks to the foresight of those who planned for their future.

The importance of resilience The recent Hutton’s breeding success, following such a devastating loss in the mountains, underlines the importance of building resilience into at-risk populations.

It is a lesson the Government should be learning from and applying to the management of any threatened species whose survival is threatened by human activities, including climate change and its effects.

Forest & Bird’s Seabird Advocate Karen Baird says: “Conservation scientists have long been aware of the need for a minimum number of self-sustaining populations of species to guarantee long-term survival.

“And now that climate change has entered the equation, there is even more need to build resilience into populations.”

Species that are already at risk, such as Māui’s dolphin, hoiho, sea lions, black petrels, whio, bats, and kea need a precautionary approach to their management. They need a resilience buffer, otherwise they can be devastated by a natural event such as earthquake, fire, or disease that they would otherwise be able to sustain.

Robert C Bruce Trust

2017 grants Perpetual Guardian, as trustee for the Robert C Bruce Trust, is calling for applications for the 2017 grants.

The Trust provides grants for research work and projects relating to forests and afforestation on public land. Applications will be considered from organisations and individuals.

Further information and application forms are available from the trustee.

Earthquake damage at Shearwater Stream. Photo: Mike Avis

Hutton’s hero honoured Geoff Harrow received a Queen’s Service Medal in the New Year’s honours, for services to mountaineering and conservation. Geoff, 90, has retired from actively working with the birds but remains a patron and kaumatua of the Hutton’s Shearwater Charitable Trust. Forest & Bird also recognised Geoff’s lifetime of outstanding work with an Old Blue award in 2007.

Phone: 06 953 6130 Email: palmerstonnorth@pgtrust.co.nz Post: Perpetual Guardian PO Box 628 Palmerston North 4440 Closing date for applications is 31 March 2017.

www.perpetualguardian.co.nz

Forest & Bird

| 29

Canterbury tales

Loss of natural character: tall tussocks have made way for bright green improved pasture adjacent to the Hakatere Conservation Park.

Always there until it’s gone Mary Ralston laments the loss of native vegetation and natural character in the high country near her home.

Throughout New Zealand, farming has intensified dramatically during the last 10 or so years. In Canterbury, we had thought of this as a phenomenon mainly affecting the lowlands where traditional sheep and mixed cropping farms were converted to dairy farms. Remnants of native vegetation that clung to roadsides and corners slowly disappeared, and we are left with a homogenous landscape populated with cows and skeleton-like irrigators.

This wave of intensification has not just affected the plains. The hillsides and valley floors alongside the big rivers draining the Main Divide – in my area, the Rakaia, Ashburton, and Rangitata – are now an extension of the green plains.

There has been an alarming loss of natural character as native vegetation is removed to accommodate development for more intensive dairy grazing and irrigated cropping.

And with irrigation comes fertiliser: fans, flats, and foothills are now a lovely shade of green all year round rather than the gentle light brown of tussock punctuated by darker shrubs. Increased fertiliser means greater stock carrying capacity; the extra stock and fertiliser equals extra nutrients and sediment running into waterways.

One of the factors in the perfect storm of high country intensification is the Nutrient Allocation Zones contained in the Canterbury Land and Water Regional Plan. The big rivers of the eastern South Island are deemed “Green Zones” – no nutrient limits are set because it is thought the big flood events can dilute any run-off. This gives free rein to farmers grazing dairy cattle on kale and other potentially high nitrate runoff crops on river flats. The big braided rivers may be able to cope with nutrient runoff, but the lowland streams, ephemeral creeks, and wetlands that are important spawning sites for native fish are in the firing line.

Other factors have been complicit in the development that has pushed up the valleys. Tenure review – the idea that land of high conservation value would be returned 30

| Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao

to the Crown and the rest freeholded – has had major consequences. Farmers primarily wanted the lower, more productive land for farming development, and conservation interests have been given (often at great cost to the taxpayer) the rugged tops, which are not particularly valuable for farming but often have predominantly native vegetation cover. Very little lowland, even areas of high conservation value, has been added to the conservation estate through tenure review.

The result has been the freeholding of much of the lower land that, despite being farmed for more than 100 years as Crown leases, still retained a great deal of native vegetation and habitat for native species. Critically, this freeholding has resulted in the loss of restrictions placed on pastoral leases – constraints on cultivation, earthworks, and vegetation removal.

The intention was that Resource Management Act (RMA) provisions, enacted through district plans, were sufficient to protect indigenous vegetation and outstanding landscapes. District plans must, under the RMA, recognise and provide for the protection of outstanding landscapes, significant vegetation, and habitats. And landholders must obtain a resource consent to clear areas of native vegetation beyond a certain threshold.

However, the rules around native vegetation clearance vary by district council and can be ambigious, confusing and easily flouted. For example in the high country, which, according to the Ashburton District Plan, is “renowned for its landscapes, vistas, geology... and biodiversity” a resource consent is required for clearing an area of native vegetation more than 1000m² over a period of five years, but not for a patch smaller than that. And vegetation loss from trampling by stock is considered fair game. Some farmers have taken advantage of this: feeding out hay or silage to a mob of cattle on a matagouri flat will soon have the area nicely flattened.

There have only been eight resource consent applications to Ashburton District Council to clear native vegetation since 2005. This figure suggests a great deal of indigenous vegetation may have been cleared without consent, which is not surprising. Resource consents are time-consuming and expensive – there are council fees, ecological reports, and surveys. Conditions will be imposed, and there may be a requirement for another area to be set aside to act as an “offset”.

And, currently, there is little consequence should a farmer go ahead without a consent and spray significant native vegetation to achieve more productive farmland. If they are caught, they may only receive a formal warning if it is a first offence. It also appears the council is reluctant to prosecute because the process is expensive, the burden of proof is very high, and it doesn’t want to give a farmer a criminal record.

Ashburton District Council relies on the public to report breaches of consents or non-consented clearing. But these may only be noticed when large areas of native vegetation have been sprayed or mechanically removed, and by then

the damage is done. Members of the public are unlikely to know whether a consent has been given or where the boundaries of a consent, if granted, start and stop. It is often neighbours and locals who notice changes, and they are usually not willing to come forward to report, let alone provide testimony in court, which is what the council requires. A recent case of serious native vegetation clearance resulted in a small fine and no publicity – the landowners and the site were not identified.

Poor compliance, monitoring, and enforcement of district council rules may be partly down to inadequate resourcing of planning departments for these roles, but one also suspects the council’s intent is to smooth the way for farmers to develop their land as they wish. There may be also a lack of recognition of the importance and value of native vegetation on the part of planners and elected councillors. But, whatever the reason(s), councils are currently failing to meet their statutory responsibilities to protect significant vegetation, habitats, and biodiversity.

Matagouri matters A native shrub that was once ubiquitous throughout the South Island foothills and high country up to 900m, matagouri (Discaria toumatou) is like an old reliable friend. Always there, until it’s gone. Many flats and fans once dotted with matagouri are now a smooth green canvas. Its absence sticks out like a sore thumb.

A nurturing plant, matagouri gives shelter, shade, and nutrients (courtesy of its nitrogen-fixing ability) to the soil and plants growing underneath, allowing smaller native herbs and grasses to flourish in its shade. Its thorny habit also helps protect other species from grazing stock and provided good shelter for lambing ewes.

OUR KIDS ARE REALLY INSPIRED BY NATURE.

So sign up yours to Forest & Bird’s Kiwi Conservation Club and give them the opportunity to explore, engage and develop a passion for nature.

Visit kcc.org.nz and join the club.

Forest & Bird

| 31

Birdlife

First catch your

kea

You need to be sneaky if you want to catch a kea in the wild. Kimberley Collins heads to Nelson Lakes National Park with the Department of Conservation.

Photos by Dave Buckton.

As I looked up at the 1300m peak looming over me, I instantly regretted not preparing myself mentally for a long, hard climb. I had just arrived in the Upper Wairau Valley with the Department of Conservation’s kea team. We were heading into the St Arnaud Ranges in search of female kea and their nests. Because kea are the world’s only truly alpine parrot, I should have known there would be a hill or two.

Corey Mosen and Sarah Fisher work with kea during their breeding season, which starts in August and runs through to December. They look for radio-tagged adults who show signs of nesting and visit nest sites they have found in previous years to find out whether birds are using them.

“The aim is to clap our eyes on eggs, chicks, and nests to monitor whether or not a new, independent kea is added to the population at the end of the breeding season,” says Corey.

Kea make their nests on the ground in natural caves and cavities in the rocks, as well as in the hollows and roots of large trees. This makes them vulnerable to predation by introduced mammals. Stoats can kill adult females and chicks, while rats and possums will hassle them in the nest and eat their eggs.

As I huffed and puffed up the steep incline, Corey explained (without losing his breath) that it takes about four months for a kea egg to hatch and become independent.

“They’re vulnerable for quite a long time and that’s why two-thirds of kea chicks never fledge. Once the chicks are out of the nest and able to fend for themselves, their survival rates are good – so our team focuses on getting the chicks fledged successfully,” says Corey.

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| Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao

After climbing up the range and around a bluff, we arrived at the suspected nest site. A thin path less than a metre wide cut through the forest, with a sheer drop on one side and a towering bluff on the other. A large mosscovered rock was protruding from the hillside, with a thin gap running deep underneath. This, Corey pointed out, was where we might find a kea.

We unloaded our packs and carefully lay on the ground to see if anyone was home. I held the torch while Corey poked around with his kea-finding contraption, a camera attached to the end of a broom handle. Nestled deep under the rock sat an adult bird with two newly hatched chicks and an egg.

There was no way we could disturb her with such young chicks, so we started packing up our gear. But as we clipped our bags on and turned to leave, a rustle in the beech trees overhead drew our attention. Sitting above us, with rain dripping from its deep green feathers, was another kea – an unbanded male.

Corey leapt into action, throwing down his bag and rifling through it to pull out his banding kit. He put a net in front of the crevice and placed his cellphone, which was

The unbanded male turned his attention to it quickly, fluttering down from the tall tree to sit on top of the protruding rock for a few minutes before landing on the cellphone to investigate. And, just like that, we had him.

playing the long sharp call of a kea, in the middle of it. The unbanded male turned his attention to it quickly, fluttering down from the tall tree to sit on top of the protruding rock for a few minutes before landing on the phone to investigate. And, just like that, we had him.

Corey carefully unpicked the net from his feet and held him tightly. He asked me if I had ever held a kea before. I mumbled that I had held a kākā once, and he replied with “close enough” before explaining how to hold it with one hand around the back of the beak and the other gripping its feet. As the kea’s razor sharp beak got closer to my fingers, my heart started racing, but I took a deep breath and held on tight as Corey rifled through his banding kit.

It seemed to be over in a flash – he put the bands on, measured the bird’s beak and head, weighed it, and took a blood sample. Then we let the kea go and watched him scamper off along the path, eventually hopping into a nearby tree where he ruffled his feathers in a disgruntled manner.

Getting so close to one of New Zealand’s most wellknown and charismatic birds was an eye-opener. Not just because I saw first-hand how hard DOC staff work to protect them, but because I discovered just how how much their populations have crashed in recent years.

Once numbering in their hundreds of thousands, kea are in big trouble today with an estimated 1000–5000 birds left. Estimating exactly how many are left in New Zealand is a challenge. As I had just found out, they cover huge areas of rugged terrain that is hard to access, and their solitary nature as adults means you may only find one or two birds in a single monitoring trip.

KEA TROUBLE

Measuring, banding, and taking blood samples are all in a day’s work for DOC's kea team.

Kea numbers were decimated from 1860 to 1970 when more than 150,000 birds were killed as part of a Government-led bounty programme to stop the birds from picking fatty deposits off the backs of sheep.

Kea are world famous for their intelligence and inquisitive nature, but this behaviour can get them in trouble. When they frequent populated areas – such as Arthur’s Pass village – they are known to get hit by cars, stuck in man-made objects, and sick from human food, which is often fed to them by people who want to get up close with one of New Zealand’s better known birds.

“I was in Arthur’s Pass once, and I saw a kea just standing by a dumpster, looking a bit frantic.

I thought ‘what’s going on here?’ so I opened the dumpster and his mate had been in there looking for food, but someone must have closed the lid. He was okay, but it’s a good example of the kind of trouble they can get themselves into,” explains Corey Mosen.

Lead poisoning is also causing problems for some populations of kea, as they lick and chew the lead fixtures on older houses and huts. It can depress their immune systems, impair development, and lower their cognitive function.

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| 33

Pest-free New Zealand

Smart maps Parker Jones founded a charity to help conservationists use geospatial mapping technology. By Caroline Wood.

P

arker Jones, a long-time Forest & Bird member, has a vision. He wants to see New Zealand rid of introduced pests. And he believes one way to do this is to use smart mapping technology.

His charity GIS in Conservation (GiC) was set up four years ago to help conservationists do their trapping, planting, and weeding work more easily (see the case studies below and overleaf).

American-born Parker brought Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to New Zealand in the 1980s, when he was working as a salesman for New Zealand-owned IT company Eagle Technology. The powerful US mapping technology proved popular, and Parker sold it to lots of organisations, including the Department of Conservation, Ministry for the Environment, OSPRI, health authorities, and regional councils.

Fast forward 30 years, and conservation groups such as Forest & Bird anywhere in the world can now access GIS technology for just US$100 a year, thanks to the generosity of the American developer Esri. But using the complex computer-based technology was a barrier for many.

In 2012, Parker, decided he wanted to set up a charity to help conservation groups use the GIS technology.

Parker explains: “I felt bad. I would throw this complex

GiC's Parker Jones wants to rid New Zealand of all introduced pests.

software at conservation groups and then leave them to it.

“So, I thought, why not use my experience and my love of New Zealand to give something back and make a difference?”

Parker’s idea was to establish a core group of geospatial expert volunteers who could help conservation groups harness the mapping tool for the benefit of their conservation work.

The volunteers and GiC’s committee of experts support projects in different ways, depending on their complexity.

“It has been easy to get volunteers. Many of them are very skilled and are keen to help New Zealand’s conservation efforts,” says Parker, who lives in Wellington.

“We match a request from a conservation group with the skills of our volunteers. It could be anything from an easy mapping project up to something very complex.

“I want New Zealand to be pest-free. That’s the big picture, that’s the vision we’re all after.”

GiC has helped Forest & Bird projects in the past, and Parker would be pleased to hear from any members who would like to tap into GiC’s resources to help their conservation efforts. You can contact him by emailing gisconservationnz@gmail.com.

To find out more about GiC, see www.gicnz.org.nz.

GiC is helping making planting, weeding and predator-control easier for volunteers at a suburban Wellington marae.

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➊

Case study CHANGING HOW WE DO CONSERVATION

By Scott Sambell, manager, Glenfern Sanctuary, Great Barrier Island.

GIS technology is changing how we do conservation, and I am so thankful to be able to take advantage of that.

Parker originally got us onto the ArcGIS software for recording and analysing rodent activity back when he was working for Eagle. We spatially referenced all 820 monitoring stations and created a geo-database with ArcMap, and suddenly we could “see” what was really happening out there.

It wasn’t long before we realised we didn’t have regular rodent incursions as we thought. We could see a resident population of kiore had slipped through the net and become averse to our existing biosecurity devices.

Realising that we could become much more efficient using this technology, we retired our old waterproof notebooks and began using a field collection app for mobile phones, which then loaded the data directly to the ArcGIS database.

Suddenly there was no more “can you please remember to hand in your notebook at the end of the day?” data entry lags and no more “whose notebook is this?” and “I can’t read what you’ve written here” to deal with.

When our GiC mentor Shane got involved, he boosted it up to the next level. With the ArcCollector App that he put together, rather than email in our volunteers’ results or upload to Dropbox, field workers now just walk through the office on their way home, their phone connects the wifi, and their day’s work is automatically uploaded to the database.

We can see the day’s results instantly, which makes a massive difference when response time is everything in biosecurity.

Shane was also instrumental in getting our remote

Scott Sambell with Milly his rodent detection dog. Photo: Glenfern Sanctuary Collection.

sensing system off the ground. At the predator-proof fence ends, which are so critical to the effectiveness of the biosecurity system, we have a series of traps and bait stations that “call in” when they have experienced activity.

Thanks to Shane, we now have a system that sends us an email when we have caught a rat or feral cat, or simply something has dared to go in a bait station. This data also populates the geo-database so that the time recorded is not the next day when someone checked the trap, but the actual second that it happened.

That kind of data is something we have never had before, and we are only just coming to terms with how valuable it is.

➋

Case study NGĀ HAU E WHĀ O PAPARĀRANGI

By Catriona O’Neill, GiC project volunteer I have worked with Ngā Hau e Whā o Paparārangi (NHEWOP) for almost three years as a volunteer, sharing GIS skills and providing training and advice.

NHEWOP is a 20-year planting project at a suburban marae in Wellington. The overall objective is to restore the local ngahere/native bush to its original glory around Nga Hau e Wha o Papararangi/the breeding place of kiwi, which is in Horokiwi, a semi-rural area close to the suburb of Newlands.

This includes planting trees and plants for raranga/ weaving, rongoa/medicine, and maara kai/cooking purposes with an overall objective of returning birds and other wildlife back into the area.

GIS technology was identified as being crucial to the success of the project because it will aid decision-making

Everyone is welcome to help with planting and caring for the ngahere.

Pest-free New Zealand and planning efforts by identifying sites for future planting and other activities, such as pest and weed control.

I am helping NHEWOP to achieve their goals by mapping, visualising, and analysing the landscape. I have also mentored NHEWOP volunteers Aaria Dobson-Waitere, Scott Bailey, Joe McLoed, and Harry Meinders by providing training in GIS with the aim of making them self-sufficient in mapping and using GIS tools.

This will help them manage and plan conservation activities on the site and protect the land for future generations to come.

Scott was the winner of last year’s New Zealand GIS scholarship and went to the USA for training and to attend two GIS conferences.

Catriona O’Neill

➌

Case study WEEDING WHIZZES, Motutapu Island, Hauraki Gulf

By Nanda MacLaren, Volunteer, Motutapu Restoration Trust Our volunteers weed the volunteer-planted Home Bay Forest as well as some bush remnants on the island. Their main target is moth plant (Arajuia hortorum), which can severely damage native ecosystems and hinder restoration.

In 2014, GiC approached us and offered to explain the benefits of geospatial mapping for conservation groups like ours. In 2014, we started discussing our needs with our GiC volunteer Lucas Mostyn. Lucas, who is based in Palmerston North, developed an in-field app for our volunteers. We started using it last year.

GIS maps created by Lucas, and data collected by Motutapu Restoration Trust volunteers using the GIS Collector App on their smart phones, mean that 60ha of the Home Bay Forest is now being effectively weeded for moth plant and other weeds. Complete eradication of moth plant is unlikely, but it can be kept at low enough levels that the native ecosystem can flourish.

The main benefits of the new system are that costly GIS recording devices are no longer required, data can be shared between volunteers allowing work continuity regardless of who is doing it, data is immediately captured in the app, The Collector App and a short synchronisation process screenshot shows red moth plant hotspots. is all that is required to update data.

Blue and yellow are Before going to the island, other species and the volunteers synchronise the data to green and orange dots are two separate tracking their phones. During a grid search layers showing different for weeds, they can see where they time periods. are on the map. When they see that they are near a recorded hotspot, they take extra care in searching that area. New hotpsots are recorded as required. At the end of the day, the data is synchronised back to the shared online database.

The Collector App also gives the ability to track a volunteer’s path, so progress of the grid search, which 36

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can take more than a year to complete, can clearly be seen.

Any other weeds found and identified as belonging to the group for total eradication from the island – for example, panic veldtgrass (Ehrharta erecta) – are also recorded in the Collector App. All data can GiC volunteer Lucas Mostyn be shared with DOC for future follow up.

The system continues to be fine tuned, and Motutapu Restoration Trust is also looking at new maps to record seed collection sources and to calculate the size of future planting areas. We highly recommend this tool for volunteer weed programmes – it is cheap, simple, and very effective. It saves that most precious of our commodities – time!

Volunteer weeders on Motutapu Island.

Birdlife International

Lessons from Little Barrier

My second week involved a New Zealand storm petrel project with the Northern New Zealand Seabird Trust.

It was interesting to see how these birds were caught through the use of high beam lights, mesmerising the small petrel towards the ground. I was told back at home, old mamas on Mauke, one of our outer Cook Islands, used this technique too, but that was for chickens!

I had the job of placing captured birds into their new artificial burrows. Walking by myself in the dark forest to the burrows some 200m away, I saw what I thought was a kiwi but it turned out to be a kākāpō right there in the middle of the track. We both stood still for a good eight seconds before the kākāpō realised I had spotted it and headed off into the nearby bush. After that, I had a lot more helpers join me on my walks to the burrows!

Having arrived back home, I’m looking forward to utilising my skills learnt on Hauturu. For instance (funding dependent), I hope to work on a new project surveying and monitoring the herald petrel population on Rarotonga.

Little is known about this species, which is a major obstacle to developing a conservation plan and starting predator control work.

There has been little recent activity in terms of seabird projects being conducted in the Cook Islands. So, with my new passion and drive for seabird conservation, I hope to jump-start a bit more excitement within this area, especially among our young people.

Alanna Matamaru-Smith, from our Cook Islands’ Birdlife partner Te Ipukarea Society finds out more about seabird conservation during a recent visit to Hauturu.

I’d never been to an island that was solely dedicated to being a nature reserve, but once I landed on Hauturu/Little Barrier Island it didn’t take long to realise I was in a Garden of Eden. Straight away I could see kākā and kākāriki flying overhead, tūī and bellbirds trying to out-sing each other, and kōkako bouncing across the ground nearby.

In the Cook Islands the closest we have to a nature reserve is Suwarrow, our national park, which is is 825km north-west of Rarotonga and home to millions of seabirds, thousands of huge coconut crabs, hundreds of sharks, and rare species of turtles. Suwarrow was predator-free until last year when one of the rangers noticed rats on one of the islets (Motu Tou). A team is to return there this year to complete a rat eradication programme.

Back on Hauturu, my first week involved helping Dan Burgin, of Wildlife Management International, and Leigh Joyce, DOC’s assistant ranger on Hauturu, conduct a population survey on the taiko/black petrel. I got a real hands-on experience holding these big seabirds and carefully learnt how to direct them in and out of their burrows. After handling the bird, with Dan banding it, we checked its nest for eggs or chicks.

OUR PARTNERS IN THE PACIFIC BirdLife International is the world’s largest nature conservation partnership, with 120 partners worldwide, including Forest & Bird. Our society is a member of Birdlife’s Pacific Partnership, which includes national conservation groups from the Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Palau, and Australia.

The Pacific has more threatened bird species per unit area of land, or per person, than anywhere else in the world. There are 34 critically endangered bird species in the region that are on the brink of extinction, with many more edging closer to being wiped out every year.

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Focus on flora Rata in flower, Barrytown, West Coast, January 2015. Photo: Steve Reekie/New Zealand Wild

Rātā

detectives

Do you have any photos, records, memories, or written notes that can help scientists understand why southern and northern rātā flower in some years and not others? Sarah Richardson and Rowan Buxton would like to hear from you.

Northern and southern rātā are two of our most spectacular flowering tree species. In some years, flowering is much more intense than others, but, surprisingly, we don’t know what causes these intermittent bumper years (mast years).

A mast year or masting event is when most individuals of a species flower intensely at the same time, then hardly flower at all in other years. The intense, brilliant red of rātā flowers ensures its masting is distinctive and jawdroppingly beautiful.

In other mast flowering trees, such as beech species, a mast year is generally preceded by a specific temperature pattern across seasons and years. It might be a particularly warm summer the year before, or a big difference in temperature between the two previous years. Researchers in New Zealand and overseas debate whether the plants respond directly to this or whether the effect is more indirect – the temperatures might cause a spike in resources (for example, activating soil microbes) that enable the plants to flower. The answer is probably a mixture of several factors. Identifying how those factors work together could help us predict mast flowering for many species.

We have good data on mast seeding in beeches and podocarps, and flowering data from several species of snow tussock, largely because of the predator eruptions that follow such events. While we have almost no information on northern or southern rātā, we do know that southern rātā masting is often out of phase with other masting species. Moreover, some individuals flower in “off” years, even right through winter.

Why are we interested in rātā? Flowering is important for two reasons: n Rātā is a critical source of nectar for many of our forest

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birds. Kākā, in particular, feed on the flowers, and an abundance of nectar may increase their chances of breeding successfully. In late winter and early spring, kākā also peel back the bark on southern rātā trees to feed on the sap. In the months preceding flowering, there may be something in the sap that prompts kākā to breed. If this is so and we were able to predict rātā flowering, we could plan predator control operations around flowering years to protect the breeding birds. n Rātā makes wonderful honey. If we could predict rātā flowering from climate data, beekeepers could plan ahead and take advantage of a mast year.

This year, we will start measuring southern rātā flowering in Westland and Canterbury, but it may take many years of data to detect a pattern. But your old tramping photographs and historical accounts could help us piece together a flowering chronology in less time. We need lots of photographs and records of flowering. And we need your help.

We ask Forest & Bird readers to share their records with us. We need photographs, notebook records, and observations.

Photographs (see right) We’re interested in all photos of southern or northern rātā forest from anywhere in New Zealand as long as you can provide a date and a location. Dates and places can be a bit rough – for example, Summer 1987, somewhere near Nelson.

We need images where rātā isn’t flowering as much as images of it flowering because the “off” years are a vital part of our analysis. Although mast flowering usually

happens in summer, we are interested in photos from throughout the year because this will allow us to firmly pinpoint the flowering window.

The most useful photographs are those where we can see lots of trees – close ups of single flowers or trees are still helpful as corroborating evidence, but we are most interested in seeing photos where there are lots of trees in flower all at the same time.

Sometimes, people take a photo of a single tree because it was the only one flowering, and this sort of information is often recollected when looking at your photos. Notes like these from memory can be useful.

Photo: Steve Reekie/New Zealand Wild

Notes and observations Another source of information is written notes or records.

Do you have any records of northern or southern rātā flowering that you would be willing to share with us?

These might be botanical outings, trip reports for tramping clubs, or any number of others that can be pinpointed to a year and a place. We’ve found many examples in Botanical Society newsletters, but there will be many other, unpublished records that we would love to hear about.

Peter Wardle suggested that southern rātā flowers heavily the year after a dry summer, particularly when there’s an absence of drought or unseasonal cold in the early part of the summer in the flowering year. We can test this suggestion, but we’d be keen to hear of other patterns that you’ve observed that we could test. For example, we had a very mild winter last year and already people are suggesting that warm winters will promote widespread flowering by rātā. If you have observed a pattern between weather and rātā flowering, we will test it alongside the two ideas described above.

SEND IN YOUR PHOTOS:

Get in touch Email Sarah Richardson RichardsonS@LandcareResearch. co.nz or Rowan Buxton BuxtonR@LandcareResearch. co.nz or call 03 321 9788 (Sarah) and 03 321 9627 (Rowan).

You can also send material in the post to: Landcare Research, PO Box 69040, Lincoln 7640. All originals will be scanned and returned on request.

What will happen to the information?

We will score flowering for each photo or observation and store these in a data file. When we’ve finished our analysis, we will upload this file to a data archive called Datastore so that others can use it in the future. We will acknowledge all contributions.

We will analyse the data to try to determine whether there’s a climate signal that precedes flowering. If we are successful, we will try to publish a scientific article on the work, and, of course, we’ll be back here with the results.

The examples below illustrate what Sarah and Rowan are looking for.

Definitely mast flowering

We can see lots of southern rātā trees, and we can confidently say that many of them are flowering heavily.

Photo: Southern rātā, Otira Valley, Feb 2010. Rowan Buxton.

Definitely not mast flowering

We can see lots of trees, and we can confidently say that none of them are flowering intensely.

Photo: Northern rātā, Kohaihai, Dec 2007. Janet Wilmshurst.

A few trees are definitely flowering intensely

We can see quite a few trees, and we can see that a few are flowering intensely. A few more images from that year would be ideal to confirm that flowering was widespread rather than localised to these few trees.

Photo: Southern rātā, Otira, Summer 1990/1991. Rowan Buxton.

At least one tree is flowering intensely

We can see part of a tree is flowering heavily. We can’t see whether other trees are also flowering.

More images would be needed to confirm that flowering was widespread rather than localised to this tree.

Photo: Southern rātā, Franz Josef, Jan 2015. Rowan Buxton.

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Conservation heroes

Backyard Bryce McQuillan and Angela Simpson have launched an ambitious project to photograph every invertebrate species in New Zealand. By Lucy Dickie.

U

nder the right light, the eye of a moth can be extraordinary. The details stand out, showcasing all the many tiny parts, which are often invisible to us. The minuscule compounds that make up the eye, the hairs around the face, and even the small scales covering the wings suddenly become much more prominent. A camouflaging background often obscures these details, but if looked at in the right conditions the complexity of the moth reveals itself.

This is what Forest & Bird members Bryce McQuillan and Angela Simpson, from Rotorua, found when they decided to start photographing invertebrates on white backgrounds as an educational resource to help scientists, students, and school children more easily identify them.

Bryce and Angela are nature photographers who specialise in macro photography. They spend a great deal of their time crawling around in the mud, sand, or forest, trying to document the amazing invertebrates we have here in New Zealand. As bug

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maniacs, they’ve been involved in many insect publications, but the idea to start photographing the bugs on white backgrounds arose only recently.

“A lot of species can become lost or are well camouflaged in their natural environment. This can be for many reasons but is mainly due to the subject hoping to blend into its surroundings so that it does not become prey to a larger animal,” Bryce explained.

“We wanted to be able to showcase the invertebrates for their unique features and beauty without the background being distracting.”

Instead of sourcing the bugs from exotic far-flung lands, Bryce and Angela first turned to their own backyard and were quickly surprised at the diversity of invertebrates they found themselves surrounded by. There were insects hidden in plain sight among the grass and shrubs. Many creatures that looked similar to the naked eye were found to be actually very different when photographed on a white background.

Meet the neighbours: Snail/Oxychilus alliarius, moth/Declana floccosa, Yellowbanded leaf roller wasp/Xanthopimpla rhopaloceros, Four-spined weevil/ Scolopterus penicillatus, Psyllid, Shield bug/Rhopalimorpha obscura, Orb web spider/Zealaranea crassa, Vagrant spider with prey/Uliodon sp.

bugs “Even the slugs were beautiful when looked at on a white background. We took photographs of all the different species of slugs we could find in our backyard.

The detail and colour these animals showed was incredible when they were removed from the camouflaging, natural environment,” explains Angela.

Feeling satisfied they have documented a decent portion of the invertebrates in their backyard, Bryce and Angela have now expanded to other habitats, such as wetlands and forests.

It’s a massive project. The pair have already taken more than 3500 photos and documented 650+ species so far.

With more than 25,000 species of invertebrates in New Zealand, they still have a long way to go!

Forest & Bird Distinguished Life Member and renowned entomologist Peter Maddison is supporting the project.

He said: “By providing clear images of their invertebrate subjects, Bryce and Angela are making a useful resource for helping to build up knowledge of these animals.

“It provides a coat-hook on which amateur naturalists,

Forest & Bird members, and the scientific community can build up useful information for understanding these invertebrates’ ecology and conservation needs.”

Bryce and Angela are hoping the photo ID cards will be published and used by school groups and for Bioblitz events. Ultimately, they would like to reach a point where they can publish an educational guide and accompanying app on New Zealand invertebrates.

But this is more than just a photographic project. The pair want to showcase these often ignored species and the role they play in the ecosystem. Both of them are keen ecologists but understand the importance of bugs is often underestimated because of their miniscule size.

By creating this educational guide, they hope not only to showcase the beauty of these tiny creatures but also to convey that so many other plants and animals rely on them, just like we do.

All pics by Bryce McQuillan and Angela Simpson.

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Our partners

An antidote to city living

The Lucas family go tramping whenever they can.

Mark and Thelma Lucas, founders of Base Outdoors, have made it their mission to “walk the environmental talk”, as Jess Winchester discovers.

“In New Zealand we really are blessed, aren’t we? There are so many beautiful tracks. At the moment our family favourite is the Pararaha Valley in the Waitakere Ranges.

We’ve fallen in love with it – it’s just like Jurassic Park!”

Mark and Thelma would clearly rather be out tramping than sitting in traffic or a windowless office in central Auckland.

It isn’t currently practical for them to up sticks and move to a more rural location away from the city. Instead, they have set up Base Outdoors, a small New Zealand company that manufactures and sells merino clothing. Now they can combine business with their love of the environment and their commitment to protect it.

“When you spend time in the bush, you understand how fragile it is. You become aware that if you don’t look after it there will be nothing left for our kids. Or their kids,” says Mark. Next holiday, they will tramp the Kepler Track, and their daughter Jenna and son Caleb have already walked more miles than the average teenager, completing the 77km Hillary Trail while most of us were celebrating Christmas.

“The environment is at the heart of our brand, and I really feel it would be hypocritical to promote the outdoor lifestyle without taking conservation seriously,” Mark says.

The couple set up Base Outdoors in 2016. The wool comes from New Zealand sheep, so they can be certain the fabric is ethically and fairly produced with as small a carbon footprint as possible. Base Outdoors merino t-shirts are delivered in unbleached cardboard boxes, free from plastic wrapping or tags. In time, when sales increase, they hope to be able to track each shipment of wool to individual farms.

Merino wool is hard-wearing, odour resistant, breathable, and can be worn year round. But Mark tells me there is an even better reason to stick to natural wool products whenever possible. He says up to 90% of micro42

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plastics in the sea are caused by washing synthetic fabrics at home in domestic washing machines.

“Microfibres track through domestic wastewater into sewage treatment plants, where some of the tiny plastic fragments are captured as part of sewage sludge. The rest pass through into rivers and eventually oceans, and ultimately end up in our own food chain,” he explains.

“We need to do something to stop it damaging the marine environment – we need to reduce plastics wherever we can, and at Base Outdoors we have made this a very big driver of our mission.”

Base Outdoors generously donates 8% from every item sold to Forest & Bird. You can check out their website for the full range of outdoor merino gear.

Building a sustainable green business is hard work.

Mark and Thelma are currently gearing up for the autumn tramping season and placing orders with suppliers for next winter. But they also make sure they have time to plan their next adventure out in nature, testing their latest merino products of course!

“It’s the antidote to city living, isn’t it?” Mark says.

To find out more or to place an order visit https:// baseoutdoors.co.nz/.

Forest & Bird staff model their Base Outdoors merino t-shirts.

Climate disruption

A warming world What are the risks for nature from climate change and how much more do we need to find out about them? By Caroline Wood Recent figures released by NIWA show that 2016 was the hottest year on record for New Zealand, in line with a new global record announced by the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.

Last year, Forest & Bird organised a climate science symposium that brought together scientific experts who shared their knowledge, discussed the impact of a warming world on nature, and highlighted the need for more research.

Speakers included Emeritus Professor Sir Alan Mark, Otago University, who is also a Forest & Bird ambassador; Victoria University’s Professor James Renwick (climate change in NZ) and Dr Nancy Bertler (Antarctic ice sheets and sea level rise); NIWA’s Dr Matt Pinkerton (impact on NZ’s ocean waters) and Dr Cliff Law (ocean acidification in NZ); Professor Russell Death of Massey University (effects on NZ freshwater); and ecologist Wren Green (impacts on land).

Delegates heard how

global warming puts New Zealand’s unique wildlife and landscapes under even more pressure. This includes more extreme weather events, predators and weed infestations of forests and farms, major risks to marine farming, fishing, and freshwater, and global sea level rises.

“New Zealand needs more science to help us predict the impact of climate change on native species, a plan to deal with the impacts of climate change on our natural world, and to urgently cut emissions,” says Forest & Bird’s Chief Executive, Kevin Hague.

“Yellow-eyed penguins, kea, and tuatara are already showing some signs of climate change-induced stress. The consequences for these and many other native species will be severe unless the Government starts leading the way in cutting emissions and funding adaptation research.”

Storm in a teacup by artist Janine Thompson, who donated some of the proceeds of a recent exhibition to her local Forest & Bird branch.

Decades of conservation work went up in smoke last month as the Port Hills fire raged across some of the region’s last remnants of native forest. A warming world for New Zealanders and nature will mean more frequent and worse fires, droughts, and floods.

Photo: Frances Vallance

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Forest & Bird’s climate symposium was made possible thanks to generous support from SolarCity, Victoria University, and Wellington Zoo. Andrew Booth, CEO of SolarCity, said: “Kiwis have a reputation for doing the right thing, and initiatives like last year’s climate symposium are really important to let people Andrew Booth know they can make a difference and empower them to take urgent action.”

Grant Guildford, Vice-Chancellor of Victoria University, said the challenges posed to the world by climate instability and ocean Grant Guildford acidification are already evident.

“The consequences to life as we know it are grave and will be irreversibly set in motion unless we rapidly decarbonise the world’s energy supply over the next two decades to achieve a net zero carbon economy by the turn of the century. Victoria University is wholly committed to playing its part in fighting climate change.”

Karen Fifield, chief executive of Wellington Zoo, which hosted the event, presented multiple examples of species at risk worldwide and called on businesses to support the goal of a low-carbon economy.

Forest & Bird intends to publish a report based on the science presented to the symposium. If you are interested in finding out more, or making a donation to help fund the report, please contact Jess Winchester on 04 801 2219 or j.winchester@forestandbird.org.nz.

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Best Fish Guide 2017

Be a hero for nature

By Kevin Hague

Last. Loneliest. Loveliest. Out here on the edge of the world, human impacts were last to be felt, and one of the results is that our natural environment and the species that it supports are extraordinary. New Zealanders love nature, and protecting nature is very important to us.

That’s one of the reasons that Forest & Bird has become such an institution. We’ve been around since 1923, more than 80,000 New Zealanders are members, and when we speak up to defend nature, and to give nature a voice, we know we do so with enormous public backing.

And one of our messages right now for New Zealanders is that the nature that they love and want to protect is in desperate trouble. All of our ecosystems are in grave peril, and that includes marine ecosystems.

New Zealand has some four million square kilometres of waters and our fishing and aquaculture sector is worth $1.58 billion, making it one of our largest exporters. And about 70% of all seafood caught in New Zealand waters in 2015 is exported, so we are a big global player.

How much do you know about your seafood?

Unfortunately a lack of consumer information means many Kiwis don’t realise that some of the seafood they are buying are fished or farmed in ways that are harming the marine environment and killing our seabirds, sea lions and dolphins.

That’s why, since 2003, Forest & Bird has published the Best Fish Guide, a ranked ecological assessment of the seafood fished or farmed in our waters. The 2017 guide has more species, information and choices than ever before. .bestfishguide Download the free Best Fish Guide at www.bestfishguide.org.nz

But over the past year New Zealanders have become progressively more and more horrified by what they have learnt about fishing practices. Firstly, our quota management system is 30 years old and not fit for purpose anymore.

Overfishing and dumping is still widespread, and the level of fish caught in NZ waters could be several times higher than what has been reported over the last 60 years.

On top of this, some of NZ’s fisheries are still killing very significant numbers of protected and threatened species – like seabirds and marine mammals.

We know that there are parts of the fishing industry who want to see change or who understand that change must happen. But we need to give them the support and the tools, including the regulatory framework, to ensure they can deal to the laggards in the industry.

All of our ecosystems are in grave peril, and that includes marine ecosystems We need an urgent review of our entire Fisheries Act, not just a few sections. We need 100% observer coverage across all our fisheries and we need the Government and the fishing industry to invest in new technology to stop killing protected species and stop seafloor habitat destruction. We need to separate the functions of MPI so that it represents New Zealanders’ interests in protecting nature, not the interests of the worst parts of the fishing industry.

Thirty percent of New Zealand’s land has conservation status – it should be the same for the ocean. Less than one percent of NZ’s entire marine environment is fully protected.

But the answers aren’t just about government policy.

Our Best Fish Guide app empowers consumers and lets them make a difference for our oceans and the creatures that live there.

Consumers can use their purchasing power to send a message to retailers and the fishing industry that they want sustainably fished seafood.

You can use our Best Fish Guide it to make informed seafood decisions that help our oceans. Be a hero for nature, without even leaving the supermarket or restaurant.

Best fish guide 2017

Smart seafood choices

Free Best Fish Guide resources: You can download and print this poster and the Best Fish Guide infographic (right) from our website www.bestfishguide.org.nz

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Orange roughy.

Photo: Wreford Hann

BEST CHOICE Paua (farmed) Green-lipped mussel (farmed) Salmon (farmed, freshwater Canterbury) Cockle Pilchard Arrow Squid (jig) Kahawai Pacific oyster (farmed, NI) Albacore tuna (longline) Yellow-eyed mullet Blue mackerel (purse seine, Cape Reinga to East Cape) Rock lobster (top of NI, Southland and Chatham) Sprats Garfish Grey mullet (NI east and south coast) Antarctic toothfish Salmon (farmed, marine, all areas except Canterbury) Butterfish Paua (all areas except lower SI) Blue moki (set net) Red gurnard (longline top half NI) Hoki (bottom trawl) Swordfish Oyster (lower SI) Kina (dredge) Scallops (West Coast and top of SI) Red snapper (longline) Alfonsino (mid-water trawl) Leather jacket Blue moki (trawl) Queen scallops Rays bream Arrow squid (trawl) Alfonsino (bottom trawl) Bigeye tuna Elephantfish (set net) Ribaldo (longline) Red cod Frostfish Stargazer Blue shark Blue warehou Patagonian toothfish Elephantfish (trawl) Blue mackerel (trawl) Bluenose John dory (NI) Red snapper (trawl) Barracouta Rig (trawl) Lookdown dory Dark ghost shark Longfin eel

CUT OUT AND KEEP

Orange roughy (Chatham Rise and Challenger stocks) Spiny dogfish Sea perch (trawl) Oreos Pale ghost shark Black cardinal fish

Best fish guide 2017

Albacore tuna (troll) Pacific oyster (farmed, SI) Rock lobster (Gisborne to Kaikoura) Skipjack tuna Anchovy Key Salmon (farmed, marine Canterbury) NI = North Island Trevally (purse seine, Cape Reinga to East Cape) SI = South Island Paua (lower SI) Kingfish (set net) Kina (diving) Best choice Blue cod (pots, east and south of SI) “Great to eat” Paddle crabs (baited pots) Good choice Ling (longline) “Good to eat” Flatfish (dragnet NI east & west coast) Grey mullet (west coast of NI) OK choice Packhorse lobster “OK to eat” Tarakihi (West Coast and top of SI) Scallops (top of NI and east coast south to Tauranga) OK but some Hoki (mid-water trawl) concerns choice John dory (SI) “eat less of” Moonfish Worst choice Kingfish (longline) “Don’t eat” Striped marlin Surf clams Ling (bottom trawl) Tarakihi (all areas excl. West Coast and top of SI) Yellowfin tuna Mako shark Paddle crabs (West Coast and top of SI) Red gurnard (trawl) Hake Trumpeter Sea perch (longline) Southern blue whiting Southern bluefin tuna Whitebait Pacific bluefin tuna School shark Oyster (West Coast and top of SI) Blue cod (trawl) Trevally (trawl) Flatfish – all other species Rig (set net) Jack mackerel (trawl) Silver warehou Snapper White warehou Download our free Best Fish Guide 2017 app Scampi and find out all you need to Porbeagle shark know about New Zealand’s Flatfish – turbot and brill best sustainable seafood Gemfish choices. See Groper www.bestfishguide.org.nz Shortfin eel Jack mackerel Ribaldo (trawl) Rubyfish Skates Orange roughy (excl. Chatham Rise and Challenger stocks)

✁

WORST CHOICE

Defending nature

ANOTHER

Forest & Bird NATURE WINFOR

Sanctuary success Forest & Bird has won a long-running campaign to save a Hochstetter’s frog population in the Bay of Plenty. By Lucy Dickie For more than two decades, the Forest & Bird Bay of Plenty branches have been fighting to protect a unique population of Hochstetter’s frogs located in Otawa, near Te Puke. And now it’s finally time to celebrate.

Last December, the former quarry site was designated a sanctuary area, allowing it to be restored and conserved.

This small 400ha area of public conservation land has been the subject of bitter debate during the past 20 years.

Dave Wills, a volunteer on a Forest & Bird walk, discovered the first Otawa frog in 1992.

Hochstetter’s frogs are divided into 19 genetically distinct populations. The Otawa population is the smallest, at possibly just 200 individuals, and has been identified as nationally critical – one step off extinction.

Members of the Tauranga and Te Puke branches have spent many years, and thousands of dollars, advocating for the frogs’ protection. A mining licence had been granted in the 1960s, which posed a major threat to the habitat, and,

The Otawa Hochstetter's frog found in 1992. Photo: Karen Budd

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Hochstetter’s frogs are as unique to New Zealand as kiwi and kākāpō. They belong to an ancient genus called Leiopelma that split from other frog species around the time of the dinosaurs. They exhibit many strange traits such as being voiceless, lacking external ears, and hatching as froglets instead of tadpoles.

| Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao

There are 19 genetically distinct Hochstetter's frog populations.

Photo: Euan Brook.

to make matters worse, branch members were constantly blockaded and accused of trespassing by the mine licencee.

Forest & Bird’s Bay of Plenty regional manager Al Fleming, who has also been involved in the campaign for years, said: “Local branch members from Te Puke and Tauranga have fought strenuously for the welfare of this rare and beautiful frog and the protection of this forest.”

The members pursued it through the Environment Court, through water rights and land use consents and even through the Ombudsman. Without their tenacity, mining would have got under way and the Otawa frog population would have been destroyed years ago.

In 2009, the mine licence holder gave up, leaving the block damaged with roads and slips but still relatively intact and un-mined so the frogs have survived.

Te Whakakaha Conservation Trust, a community-driven, voluntary committee, has been established to manage the land.

Now, after collaboration between the Department of Conservation, tangata whenua, Western Bay of Plenty District Council, Bay of Plenty Regional Council, and Forest & Bird branches, the land status has been changed from stewardship area to sanctuary area.

“The frogs now have a chance, and the sanctuary land status provides an opportunity for DOC and the community to restore the frogs’ habitat, protect it from animal pests, and ensure that access to the public is restricted to give priority to the frogs’ recovery and protection,” added Al Fleming.

The challenge now is for Forest & Bird to work with DOC, iwi, and the community trust to create a management plan that will ensure the future security of the site and allow the frog population to grow.

Obituary

A LUCKY DISCOVERY I well remember the occasion in 1992 when the frogs were discovered. At the time, it was known that there were Hochstetter’s frogs further north in the Kaimai range and more around East Coast, but none were thought to be in the Mamaku and forest in between.

As part of the Forest & Bird opposition to the proposed mining, my husband Basil was leading a field trip for Te Puke Forest & Birders to visit the Otawa forest. Most people had never been into it even though it was Crown-owned because the quarry operator vigorously discouraged visitors.

We had reached a clearing by the stream, and Basil went ahead to find the way, as there were no tracks. As we waited, I told the group about the non-existent frogs and suggested, just to fill in time, that we have a look. So a number of people splashed into the streams and started poking about, and after a few moments a man said: “What’s this?”

And he held out his hand, and there was a Hochstetter’s frog sitting in his palm!

It was as random as that. We then found more frogs and took photos. It was later claimed that it was a Forest & Bird plot and we had planted the frogs!

Anyway, the quarry operator has since died, his mining licence has been relinquished, and that fortuitous find went a long way to eventually securing the protection of the forest. n Ann Graeme

Entry to the sanctuary is via the old quarry road. Basil and Ann Graeme.

Stan Butcher QSM (1923–2016) Whanganui and Bushy Park has lost one of its founding conservation icons and the recognised “Father of Bushy Park” with the passing of the trust’s patron Charles Stanley (Stan) Butcher QSM last November at the age of 93.

Returning from wartime service in Italy, Stan pursued a career in teaching, rising to role of primary principal. But his lifelong passion was conservation, with a special heart for Bushy Park.

I first met Stan Butcher in 1995 at a small gathering of a committee set up to oversee the newly established Bushy Park Trust that had been delegated stewardship of Bushy Park from Forest & Bird.

Stan and I established a common bond forged out of a mutual passion for New Zealand’s native forests and birds.

We both found an outlet for this passion in membership of The Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society, becoming possibly its two longest-serving members – between 65 and 70 years each.

But it was his passion and knowledge of our native bush and its inhabitants that held people in awe. There was not a tree, shrub, fern, or lichen; a weta, moth, or stick insect; a bird be it extinct or still dwelling in our forests of which he did not possess a remarkable and intimate knowledge.

This knowledge found a unique repository in membership of Forest & Bird and more specifically in a place called Bushy Park – a 98ha pristine lowland rainforest just 25km from Whanganui with a gracious Edwardian homestead nestled within it.

Into this remnant of old New Zealand, Stan Butcher poured all of his energy, passion, and remarkable storehouse of knowledge.

He left a legacy of a vibrant forest sanctuary, an historic homestead, and a living history of colonial settlement and farming. But that legacy needs to also record that he viewed those three facets of Bushy Park in one unique entity.

So from all of us at Bushy Park we’d like to say: “Thank you Stan. We may not see your likes again.” n By Allan Anderson and members of Stan’s family *Stan was also Chairman of Forest & Bird’s Lower Hutt Branch for a decade and was instrumental in setting up Forest & Bird’s Pauatahanui Reserve. He was awarded an Old Blue in 1988 and later became a Distinguished Life Member.

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In the field

Fabulous

fungi Neither plant nor animal, New Zealand’s mushrooms and other fungi are diverse, colourful, and sometimes just plain weird. By Ann Graeme. Photos by Shirley Kerr There is much more to a mushroom than meets the eye – and I mean that literally. When you look at a mushroom, you just see a mushroom. You don’t see the vast network of threads weaving between the soil particles, branching over the tree roots, and penetrating the dead and buried twigs and leaves. Underground, the mushroom fungus is like a tree with only its flowers poking above ground.

Fungi are not plants. They have no chlorophyll so they cannot make their own food. They are not animals. They have no mouth or teeth. They get their food through their thread-like hyphae, which digest and absorb organic matter. The parts we see, the mushroom or toadstool, are the fruiting body of this unseen network.

These fruiting bodies come in a marvellous variety of forms, each specific to its species. There are caps, pouches, puffballs, crusts, branching corals, and woody and even jelly forms. But every fruiting body is basically a wrapping for its cargo of spores, which will disperse to grow into new fungus hyphae.

Spore production is a prodigious effort for the threadlike hyphae, which is why the fruiting bodies are only produced when times are favourable, particularly around now, in autumn, when the rain will encourage the spores to germinate and grow.

Fungi play a crucial role in the forest as decomposers, 48

| Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao

recycling the vast quantities of dead plant material. First to the feast come the slaters, millipedes, earthworms, and huhu grubs, chewing up the dead wood and the fallen leaves and branches.

Then the fungi move in. Only they have the enzymes to break down the tough stuff, the lignin in wood and the cellulose in plant cell walls. This breakdown releases nutrients, chemical building blocks that are the foundations of new tissue. Some of these nutrients will return to the soil where plants can use them.

Not surprisingly, many plants form close and beneficial relationships with fungi. The hyphae of these mycorrhizal fungi cover and penetrate the tips of the host plant’s roots. This increases the surface area for the absorption of nutrients by both the fungus and the plant. In return, the fungus receives carbohydrates made by the plant’s leaves.

Some mycorrhizal fungi live on a wide range of plant roots, but others are more specific. In New Zealand several hundred mycorrhizal species are endemic, and these are the ones whose fruiting bodies we often see in the native forest.

The kingdom of fungi are the glue that binds together an ecology.

Neil Hill, co-founder of Earth Strength

Clues to a hidden world Earth stars (pictured above) and puff balls are closely related. Both begin to grow as round, solid balls of hyphae.

As the common puffball matures, a hole appears at the top of the ball. Any pressure – from raindrops or curious fingers – will make the ripe spores puff out. As the Earth star matures, it peels back a layer of tissue, making a petallike rosette. Inside is the same puffball structure with the chimney for the spores to escape.

The “eggs” in the bird’s nest fungus are capsules full of spores. Each capsule is attached to the cup by an elastic cord. When a raindrop falls into the cup, the capsule is splashed out, the sticky end of its cord catches on nearby vegetation, and the rebound coils the cord around any support. Bird’s nest fungi often grow on dead tree fern fronds lying on the forest floor.

Many fungi species produce caps like this wax-gill mushroom. The spores are produced in the gills underneath the cap.

Fly agaric is an introduced fungus that forms a mycorrhizal association with pine tree roots. Recently, its colourful caps have been found growing under native beech trees, an unwelcome move as it may be displacing native fungi. Fly agaric is very poisonous.

For more of Shirley Kerr’s images of fungi, lichen, mosses and more, see www.kaimaibush.co.nz.

The basket fungus belongs to the stinkhorn family. Its stinky spores, smeared inside the meshes, attract flies, and they help to spread the spores. Māori called basket fungi tutae kehua or ghost droppings.

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Going places

Behind

the fence

Julia Panfylova visits Rotokare Scenic Reserve, in Taranaki, a thriving biodiversity hotspot owned and run by the local community.

The first successful predator-proof fence was established around Wellington’s Karori Wildlife Sanctuary (now Zealandia) in 1999. Its success led to the development of many similar projects in New Zealand.

Interestingly, the areas that were chosen to fence have not generally been places of high existing biodiversity but areas with a very motivated local community that wished to restore and protect native pockets of bush. One such example is Rotokare Scenic Reserve.

Rotokare is a stunning 230ha forested hill country catchment with extensive wetlands, a 17.8ha natural lake, and two walkways. In 2007, it was surrounded by 8.2km predator-proof fence that has successfully kept the introduced mammalian predators at a zero density level. It is a community-owned and community-driven reserve, with great conservation potential.

Projects like Rotokare not only restore the ecosystem but also provide the community with an opportunity to explore the unique and diverse range of native and endemic flora and fauna. Everyone is welcome at the Rotokare Reserve and the entrance is free, but donations are appreciated.

In October, the Manawatu branch of Forest & Bird travelled to south Taranaki to explore what is hidden behind the fence of Te Rotokare. We learned that, after the fence was erected, the ancient bush started to recover

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from possums browsing. Now the forest is a home to many unique birds, lizards, fish, and insects.

The story of each species is unique. For example, tīeke/saddlebacks were reintroduced to the reserve in 2014. Half the initial 60 birds were sourced from Little Barrier Island, and another half were taken from Bushy Park, Forest & Bird’s fenced conservation area near Whanganui. The population has been very successful since the translocation, and we could hear their noisy laughing sounds everywhere.

In contrast to tīeke, North Island robins came back to the reserve themselves in 2010. The population has remained small, but monitoring showed that four out of five known pairs were raising chicks. There is a plan to translocate more robins, possibly from Bushy Park, to increase the genetic diversity of the Rotokare population.

We were also very happy to find out that Rotokare is aiming to be the next home for stitchbird/hihi! They were due to be introduced in March this year.

Rotokare is not only about birds. For example, we saw banded kōkopu in one of the forest streams. The kōkopu reproduce in the Rotokare Lake (usually the species will go to the sea), but introduced perch are probably threatening the kōkopu by eating their young before they can make it back safely to the stream. The Rotokare Scenic Reserve Trust hopes to develop perch control plans in the near

future, which may improve survival of the banded kōkopu.

In Rotokare, there is an exciting opportunity to witness the nightlife of the bush. If you are lucky, you can encounter a kiwi on a guided night walk. Thirty kiwi have been released into Rotokare as part of the Taranaki Kohanga Kiwi at Rotokare, a joint project with Taranaki Kiwi Trust. Two of them were fitted with transmitters, and recently some of the birds were micro-chipped to help with monitoring. We were unlucky with kiwi this time, but we watched a couple of dishevelled moreporks chatting in the canopy during the night tour. Also on our night tour, we saw a huge eel in the lake, fresh water crayfish in a shallow stream, a lot of cave weta, and even glow worms.

Everybody agreed it was a memorable experience, and we all felt a strong connection with nature. We also are very thankful to the Rotokare Scenic Reserve Trust for its work and enthusiasm.

Manawatu Forest & Bird members old and young enjoyed their visit to Rotokare Scenic Reserve.

Getting there Access:

The reserve is located 12km east of Eltham, in south Taranaki.

Accommodation: There is no accommodation in the reserve, but there is a campsite and a motel in Eltham (20 min drive).

More information: Please visit the Rotokare website www.rotokare.org.nz.

North Island robins and hihi can be seen at Rotokare.

*What’s your favourite wild place in New Zealand? Let us know at editor@forestandbird.org.nz and we might feature it in a future issue.

Specialists in Nature Tours since 1986

• Informative naturalist/birding leaders • Small groups (6 – 12 participants) • Private charters available • Fully accommodated & camping tours

Lake Eyre Basin and Flinders Ranges Expedition

15 Day Camping Tour – Departs Adelaide 29th April 2017 This tour is a must-do for all who long to experience the Australian outback. We will cover some of South Australia’s most historic outback locations in the Lake Eyre Basin and the spectacular Flinders Ranges.

Alice Springs to Kununurra

14 Day Camping Tour – Departs Alice Springs 21st May 2017 Explore some of the most remote areas in the Eastern Kimberley in WA and the Northern Territory. HIGHLIGHTS: Lake Argyle cruise, the Keep River National Park, Duncan Highway, Wolf Creek Crater, Lake Stretch, the Tanami Road, New Haven Sanctuary and the West MacDonall Ranges.

Kimberley Discovery

15 Day Camping/Accom Tour – Departs Broome 29th June 2017 Discover the Kimberley’s wildlife, spectacular outback scenery, and many wonderfully refreshing waterholes. HIGHLIGHTS: Geikie Gorge – Purnululu National Park, Gibb River Road including Mornington and Home Valley Stations, Manning, Galvins, Bell and Windjana Gorges.

Kimberley Wonders

12 Day Camping Tour – Departs 22nd July 2017 A different twist on the Kimberley, we include the best of the Gibb River Road but add a visit to the Mitchell Plateau. On the plateau experience the spectacular Mitchell and Mertons Falls plus great examples ancient rock art along with the regions wonderful flora and fauna.

Western Explorer

14 Day Camping Tour - Departs Broome 12th August 2017 HIGHLIGHTS: Karijini N.P, Mt Augustus and Kennedy Ranges. This trip is designed to coincide with the Pilbara wildflower season and provides the opportunity to explore the wonderful Karijini, Mt Augustus and Kennedy Range National Parks.

Great Western Woodlands and Helena Aurora Ranges

12 Day Camping Tour – Departs Perth 16th September 2017 Join us and experience the diverse wildlife and spectacular wildflowers of the world’s largest emperate woodland, including the historic woodlines (where timber cutters operated from 1899 to 1964) and the ironstone Helena Aurora Ranges which are currently under threat of being mined.

South West Birds and Botany tour

15 Day Accommodated Tour – Departs Perth 7th October 2017 Experience one of the worlds flora hot spots during Western Australia’s spectacular spring wildflower season. The birdlife that is attracted to the region is plentiful and diverse.

Christmas and Cocos Islands

12 Day Accommodated Tour – Departs Perth 21st November 2017 We will be exploring the wildlife and history of these two diverse islands.

Birding highlights are the Christmas Island Frigate bird, Abbotts Booby and the Golden Bosun Bird. The tour is timed to coincide with one of the most amazing sights the Red Crab migration. All this combined with rainforest walks makes this a naturalists wonderland.

Contact us for our full 2017 tour program: • Free Call: 1800 676 016 • Web: www.coateswildlifetours.com.au • Email: coates@iinet.net.au

Forest & Bird

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Marine Blue sharks are aptly named for their striking indigo colouring. Their numbers have declined drastically in the last 30 years because of demand for their fins in shark fin soup.

CARETAKERS OF THE OCEANS We need to learn to love sharks not fear them, as Kathryn Hodgson, co-founder of the marine conservation group Friends for Sharks, explains.

Since the release of the movie Jaws in 1975, people from all walks of life have been aware of the existence of sharks. They are iconic predators that feature in the media each summer season and instill fear, awe, or fascination, depending on perspective. Yet, despite their constant presence in the human psyche, few people are aware of the vital role sharks play in the health of ocean ecosystems and of their demise in recent decades. With global populations of shark species, such as hammerheads, threshers, and tiger sharks, having been reduced by up to 90% during the last four decades, isn’t it time we feared the loss of sharks from the oceans rather than their presence?

There are estimated to be 510 species of shark, with 113 of them recorded in New Zealand. Living fossils, such as great white and cow sharks that first appeared 11 million and 190 million years ago respectively, continue to roam the waters off both North and South Islands. They are, along with other shark species, a significant contributor to ecosystem, economic, and cultural wellbeing.

As predators, sharks control populations of other marine species and, in doing so, ensure the health of ecosystems such as coral reefs, mangroves, and kelp forests. These ecosystems provide coastal protection from wave action and storms, provide breeding grounds for commercially important fish, and drive tourism economies. As extreme weather events become commonplace, human populations continue to grow, and housing crises result in ongoing 52

| Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao

coastal urbanisation, the protection of communities and protein sources is of utmost importance. Sharks, as caretakers of the oceans, are crucial for human survival.

Recent studies have shown that sharks are worth more alive than dead. Shark tourism is worth $18 million to the Pacific Island nation of Palau, and a single reef shark will contribute $2 million to the Palau economy in its lifetime. In comparison, the sale of a single reef shark’s fins contributes only $100. Shark tourism, when undertaken responsibly, is a valuable conservation measure and provides an educational opportunity to engage future generations with the oceans while contributing to the economy.

Studying sharks has led to technological advances and the unique design of their skin has been replicated for use in Olympic swimwear and high-performance vehicles to reduce drag. Recent 3D modelling of mako shark skin has produced a plastic material with an increased speed of 6.6% when compared to smooth plastic equivalents.

Products based on shark skin replicas are expected to feature in the marine industry in the future as potential non-toxic alternatives to anti-fouling paint.

Sharks are also culturally significant, and in New Zealand Mangopare, the traditional Māori pattern of the hammerhead, features heavily in art and carvings.

Mangopare is a sign of strength, courage, and tenacity.

Sharks have been revered by Māori, and their Polynesian ancestors, for many generations.

Despite their evident value, more than one quarter of all shark species is threatened with extinction because unsustainable commercial fishing practices and the shark fin soup trade. Commercial fisheries decimate vulnerable shark populations with direct fishing pressure and bycatch, and an estimated 70 million sharks are killed annually for shark fin soup. The global shark fin trade is valued at US$540 million to US$1.2 billion. Even though shark finning was banned in New Zealand waters in 2014, fin and other shark products can be purchased legally online and in shops and restaurants. Shark cartilage tablets, liver oil, and shark oil-derived cosmetics are available on the high street. Shark fin soup features on many Asian restaurant menus in New Zealand.

Consumers can support the conservation of sharks by saying no to fin soup and by choosing sustainable alternatives to other shark products. Forest & Bird’s Best Fish Guide makes it clear which seafood species are best to buy and which should be avoided because they are unsustainably fished. The latest 2017 guide doesn’t have any shark species in the “OK to eat” category; they are all in the red “worst choice” zone. Thanks to information such as this, it is easier now than ever to make the right choices and protect future generations of both people and sharks.

Tiger shark.

Bull sharks.

Kathryn Hodgson is an environmental educator, writer, public speaker, and co-founder of Friends for Sharks.

In 2015, she completed 87 public speaking events in eight different countries during a World Tour for Sharks, including New Zealand.

Kathryn trained as a scuba diving instructor in Egypt, worked as a great white shark wildlife guide in South Africa, and currently lives in the Wairarapa. She is the Managing Editor of The Scuba News New Zealand and author of No Damage: An adventure in courage, survival and the pursuit of dreams (available on Amazon).

See www.kathrynhodgsonauthor.com.

Tai Haruru Lodge

LODGES Arethusa Cottage Near Pukenui, Northland Sleeps 6 herbit@xtra.co.nz 03 2191 337

Ruapehu Lodge Whakapapa Village, Tongariro National Park Sleeps 32 office@forestandbird.org.nz 04 385 7374

Mangarākau Swamp Field Centre North-west Nelson Sleeps 10 javn@xtra.co.nz 03 525 6031

Piha, West Auckland Sleeps 5+4 hop0018@slingshot.co.nz 09 812 8064

Waiheke Island Cottage Onetangi Sleeps 8 fb.cottage.onetangi@gmail.com

Matiu/Somes Island house Wellington Harbour Sleeps 8 wellingtonvc@doc.govt.nz 04 384 7770

Tautuku Forest Cabins Ōwaka, Otago Sleeps 16 diana-keith@yrless.co.nz 03 415 8024

*To find our more about our lodges, see www.forestandbird.org.nz/what-we-do/lodges.

Forest & Bird

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Short story

The Bird Watchers I

t casts a spell on humans, this island.

They set foot here, and they fall prey to our wild beauty. They think they come here to watch us, with their peculiar glasses glinting in the sun and their field books for lost creatures.

Little do they know that we watch them even more closely.

They are so ugly, with their plucked skin, their croaky voices, their lumbering bodies. They have a hole where their beaks should be, and tiny hooded eyes that can only see straight ahead. Gravity holds them like a mighty kauri rooted in the earth.

How they must long to fly! To sweep and swoop in the sun, catching the sea wind through feathers, light as gossamer above the tree tops.

The humans spend their entire time on this island in a trance, drunk with the exhilaration of watching us.

They squawk, they point things at us, they scratch at bits of paper. They stop at their feeding stations to eat strange fruit. Then they leave on the silver-bellied whales that glide on the ocean’s surface, croaking with satisfaction.

We aim to please them whilst they are here. It helps us spin the spell that hides the truth. We flit, we strut, we lure them further in and further up with our siren calls. Songs sung since the very beginning, before the footed creatures came to our motu.

They have no idea that I live still.

The first to greet the humans are the piwakawaka. They were not here at the beginning of Bird-Time, but they have been here long enough to be considered one of our own. They know how to fan their tails, dip their heads, charm the flightless humans. And so they lead them inwards into the island, deep into the sun-dappled green forests. Weaving the invisible nest that protects me.

It is easy for the flightless lumberers to catch sight of the kerurū. Branches bend groaning under their cherry-eyed corpulence. So sluggish and slow, it is a wonder there are any left. They breathe in and out, in no hurry at all, to the ancient rhythms of bush and wet earth. Do you not love their portly silhouettes? Perfectly attired in pearl white and purple-green, they invite the humans to linger in their sleepy sphere.

The grey warblers, the proud riroriro, flit amongst them, liquidsilver darts of sound pricking the canopy of trees. Their energy stops the humans falling asleep where they stand. The last human who fell asleep, mesmerised by a kererū, slept for a hundred years.

In ancient times, Maui threw the stitchbirds into the fire and singed their breasts a golden yellow. The hihi remain cautious to this day, easily bullied by the bossy bellbirds and tūī.

Their song is sweet and sharp and high, a mountain stream unravelling over pebbles. It flutes about my ears and I love it.

The tūī are the comedians amongst us. Good-looking, with iridescent green-flaring-black feathers so like

my own, and that white tufted poi.

Loquacious mimics of a myriad unearthly human sounds, some have even learnt the human tongue. They boast of forays into human forests, of how they are fawned over and fed with syrup.

We do feel a little sorry for our landlocked siblings. Takahē, though, does not care for our pity. He is forthright and confident, feeding from the hands of humans, walking amongst them like a king, royal blue plumage and strong red beak standing proud. We giggle behind his back at how fat he is getting, and I think he hears us, but he truly does not care, for he dotes on honey and bread.

The shy little kiwi are so full of shame for having forgotten how to fly, that they only venture out under the cloak of darkness. They have let themselves go, and rarely look much

Bird watchers, Tiritiri Matangi. Photos: Martin Sanders

Himali McInnes works as a family doctor in South Auckland.

She writes articles, prose, and occasional poems. The Bird Watchers was inspired by a visit to Tiritiri Matangi Island with her mother-in-law Elsa (an avid bird watcher herself).

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| Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao

Classifieds A L B AT R O S S - P E N G U I N S - N Z F U R S E A L S

get closer to unique southern wildlife

better than a drab brown. The tūī tell us that the humans are very fond of the kiwi, their image is everywhere across the breadth and width of the land. I cannot think why. Surely my own beauty would be far superior? My glossy plumage, the way my wattle flares a juicy orange in the sun, that striking band of tail-tip white, my strong curved beak. Perhaps it is because my kindred have been all but forgotten from human memory, obliterated by speartip and gunshot.

There was a time, it is said, many aeons ago, when we birds all fought together against the stinking ferrets with their yellow teeth and grabbing claws. We were warriors once, descendants of mighty beasts who roamed through land and sea. Now we have no need to be warriors. There are no more ferrets, no more rats with their twitching tails, no more evil stoats. At least not here, on our enchanted island.

This is now an island of plenty – rainfall, bud burst, grub feast. We have flourished here, and even I live on, despite my loneliness. The Birds will protect me for now, by placing all the attention on themselves and keeping me hidden. When the time is right, when the breath of the forest rises up, when the sea swells to meet the sky – then I will look for my own kind. n Himali McInnes © 2016

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Wildlife Cruises & Otago Peninsula Wildlife Tours Fantastic viewing all year round! ph: 0800 666 272 or www.wildlife.co.nz

RESTORING HABITATS

Specialists in re-vegetation and habitat restoration We Offer: • FENCING OF WETLANDS AND WATERWAYS • Eco-sourced native plants grown to order • Predator control • Restoration plans and advice from a qualified ecologist • Riparian fencing

Alan Phelps motunursery.gbi@gmail.com Phone 0221978230

MATAIA WALKS CONSULTING BIOLOGISTS ESTABLISHED 1972

For Stewart Island Accommodation in the Bush Rakiura Retreat Motels overlooking Braggs Bay/ Halfmoon Bay • Access to beach • Complimentary bikes • Warm & comfortable • Transfers & Professional guides available • Sleeps up to 24 Individuals & Groups welcome.

GREAT DEAL

Apartment + Car $210 per night for 2

www.stewartislandmotels.com info@rakiuraretreat.co.nz • 03 2191096

South America

(a subsidiary of Babbage Consultants Ltd)

Discover the southern Kaipara with our unguided multi-day catered walks through a unique private farm and intensive conservation project featuring native bush, salt-marsh wetlands, coastal forest and rolling farmland.

www.mataia.co.nz Ph: 09 420 5312

Environmental Impact Assessment Surveys of Marine, Freshwater & Terrestrial Habitats Pollution Investigations Resource Consent Procedures bioresearches@bioresearches.co.nz www.bioresearches.co.nz P.O Box 2828 Auckland PH: AUCKLAND 379 9417

Small Groups + Independent travellers CALL NOW FOR BROCHURE Latin Link Adventure The South American Specialists 0800 528 465 / info@latinlink.co.nz

www.latinlink.co.nz

EXPERIENCE A 3 DAY TREK IN A RUGGED WILDERNESS ENVIRONMENT WITH A SENSE OF CALM AND SOLITUDE THAT IS SIMPLY AWE-INSPIRING www.tussocktrack.co.nz T: 03 575 7361 E: info@tussocktrack.co.nz MARLBOROUGH, NEW ZEALAND

Specialists in 19th century maps and prints. Shop online at

antiquemaps.co.nz

Advertise to Forest & Bird readers here Please contact Karen Condon PHONE 0275 420 338 EMAIL mack.cons@xtra.co.nz

Ron and Edna Greenwood Environmental Trust The trust provides financial support for projects advancing the conservation and protection of New Zealand’s natural resources, particularly flora and fauna, marine life, geology, atmosphere and waters.

More information is available from the Trust, at: PO Box 10-359, Wellington

Forest & Bird

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Book reviews New Zealand’s Rivers, An Environmental History by Catherine Knight (Canterbury University Press, RRP $49.99) Reviewed by Amelia Geary The overwhelming feeling I came away with after reading this book was that I can’t believe more of our freshwater fish aren’t extinct. Our post-European treatment of New Zealand’s rivers is truly a disgrace, and Catherine Knight provides an eye-opening account of some of the horrors of the past and the horrors of present day.

The book explores themes from Māori spiritual connections and dependence on rivers through to modern day tensions with dirty dairying, irrigation, and the Land and Water Forum. The recurring issue is always the conflict between economic development and the very real need for freshwater protection for biodiversity and humans alike. This book, despite its appearance, is easy to read and confirmed to me that the Government and regional councils have never been truly committed to fresh water protection. If the past is anything to go by, nothing is going to change any time soon either.

A Bunk for the Night: A Guide to New Zealand’s Best Backcountry Huts by Shaun Barnett, Rob Brown and Geoff Spearpoint (Potton & Burton) RRP $49.99.

Reviewed by Quentin Duthie As one has come to expect from these three writer-photographers, this is a quality book. The authors have selected great photos and crafted evocative text. They have sought to showcase a diverse selection of huts – by geographical spread, accessibility, and historical origin – in a form that will entice and guide people to visit them. It succeeds.

A Bunk for the Night doesn’t try to be a packable field guide with maps and route details. But it provides equally for those in an armchair looking for nostalgia or inspiration, and for those on the road exploring a new part of the country. A tramping friend of mine, who used to view huts as buildings for shelter, now sees how they can be destinations in themselves, each with a story to tell.

The authors end with a chapter on volunteer efforts to cut tracks or repair huts, inviting the reader to muck in to ensure these hardy, but fallible, structures live on. Books like theirs will ensure the huts’ stories live on too.

Rivers Rare by Neville Peat traces the first 25 years of Project River Recovery and its contribution to conservation and restoration ecology in the Mackenzie basin. The groundbreaking project maintains and restores braided river and wetland habitat in the South Island’s upper Waitaki Basin.

Rivers Rare RRP $20 is published by the Department of Conservation, to order a copy call 03 435 0457.

Conservation crossword answers The winner of our crossword competition was Clive Heseltine, of Dunedin, who has won a copy of The Unburnt Egg – more stories of a museum curator, by Brian Gill (Awa Press, RRP $38).

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| Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao

parting shot Look at these 18-day-old kōkako chicks! Geoff Reid’s image from Ark in the Park last spring shows the result of more than 700 volunteers putting in 9000+ hours a year to control introduced predators that would otherwise kill our amazing wildlife.

Geoff is an environmentalist, photographer, traveller, and freshwater advocate.

Check out his other images on www.instagram.com/geoffreidnz.

THE COMPETITION We want to see your stunning shots of New Zealand’s nature – native birds, trees, flowers, insects, lizards, animals or marine and freshwater life.

To enter, just post your photo on Instagram and tag @forestandbird in your photo. You could win a great prize and have your image published in Forest & Bird magazine.

Don’t use Instagram? Send your high res digital file (maximum 7mb) and brief details about your photo to Caroline Wood at editor@forestandbird.org.nz

THE PRIZE This issue’s winner will receive two Kiwi Camping Epic Chairs (RRP $260). These chairs are double-padded for extra for comfort. Complete with a cup holder, insulated drinks cooler and a magazine holder – you’ll never need to move from your chair while you’re waiting for that next photo op!

The prize is courtesy of Kiwi Camping.

To view the full range see www.kiwicamping.co.nz

we ARE climbing

Climbers ascend the iconic Grand Sentinel in Sentinel Pass, Banff National Park Photo: ex-Bivouac Staff member John Price / johnpricephotography.ca

For over twenty five years Bivouac Outdoor has been proudly 100% New Zealand owned and committed to providing you with the best outdoor clothing and equipment available in the world. It is the same gear we literally stake our lives on, because we are committed to adventure and we ARE climbing.

12 STORES NATIONWIDE OFFICIAL GEAR SUPPLIER

www.bivouac.co.nz