Forest & Bird Magazine Issue 385 Spring 2022 by Forest & Bird

TE REO O TE TAIAO № 385  SPRING 2022 NEW ZEALAND’S INDEPENDENT VOICE FOR NATURE • EST. 1923 HIDDEN WONDERS TIME TO TALK ABOUT CATS HIGH STAKES STEWARDSHIPLANDREVIEW VOTE Underbird

Forest & Bird is printed on elemental chlorine-free paper made from FSC® certified wood fibre and pulp from responsible sources. COVER SHOT Clown nudibranchs (Ceratosoma amoenum) Alison Perkins PAPER ENVELOPE Tītipounamu rifleman. Phototrip RENEWAL Kopakopa Chatham Island forget-me-not. Kyle Bland EDITOR Caroline Wood E editor@forestandbird.org.nz ART DIRECTOR/DESIGNER Rob Di Leva, Dileva Design E rob@dileva.co.nz PRINTING Webstar www.webstar.co.nz PROOFREADER David Cauchi ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES Karen Condon T 0275 420 338 E karenc@mpm.nz MEMBERSHIP & CIRCULATION T 0800 200 064 E membership@forestandbird.org.nz Thank you for supporting us! Forest & Bird is New Zealand’s largest and oldest independent conservation charity. Join today at www.forestandbird.org.nz/joinus or email membership@forestandbird.org.nz or call 0800 200 064 Every copiesreceivesmemberfourfreeof Forest & Bird magazine a year. Forest & Bird is published quarterly by the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand Inc. Registered at PO Headquarters, Wellington, as a magazine. ISSN 0015-7384 (Print), ISSN 2624-1307 (Online). Copyright: All rights reserved. Opinions expressed by contributors in the magazine are not necessarily those of Forest & Bird. Contents ISSUE 385 • Spring 2022 Editorial 2 Changing conservation landscape 4 Letters + competition winners News 6 Pivotal Port Otago Supreme Court case 7 Historic marine win 8 Time to adapt, defending nature, vote for the Underbird! 10 Sharing our whakapapa 12 Four forests for the climate, global game changer, shark action plan, wetland petition Cover 14 Hidden wonders of the twilight zone Biodiversity 19 Butterfly discovery project 27 Sticking it to birdstrike Predator-free NZ 20 Time to talk about cats Forest & Bird project 24 Going for gold History 26 Keri Hulme’s lasting legacy Marine 28 Missing in action on the world stage In the field 32 Blue is the colour Stewardship land review 34 Priceless but at risk Profile 36 David Trubridge Community 37 Lasting legacies 47 Quacking good tale 19 24

Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand Inc. Forest & Bird is a registered charitable entity under the Charities Act 2005. Registration No CC26943. PATRON Her Excellency The Rt Honourable Dame Cindy Kiro, GNZM, QSO Governor-General of New Zealand CHIEF EXECUTIVE Nicola Toki PRESIDENT Mark Hanger TREASURER Alan Chow BOARD MEMBERS Chris Barker, Kaya Freeman, Kate Graeme, Richard Hursthouse, Ines Stäger CONSERVATION AMBASSADORS Sir Alan Mark, Gerry McSweeney, Craig Potton DISTINGUISHED LIFE MEMBERS Graham Bellamy, Ken Catt, Linda Conning, Audrey Eagle, 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 CONTACT NATIONAL OFFICE Forest & Bird National Office Ground Floor, 205 Victoria Street Wellington 6011 PO Box 631, Wellington 6140 T 0800 200 064 or 04 385 7374 E office@forestandbird.org.nz W www.forestandbird.org.nz @forestandbirdForestandBirdwww.facebook.com/www.youtube.com/forestandbird@Forest_and_BirdCONTACT A BRANCH See brancheswww.forestandbird.org.nz/ for a full list of our 50 Forest & Bird branches. Climate 38 Lake Onslow climate conundrum Seabirds 42 Blinded by the light Biosecurity 44 What lurks beneath Our partners 46 Standing up for the planet Freshwater 48 Q&A wetland wonders Going places 50 Fabulous Fiordland Youth award 53 Gemma Marnane Branch award 54 Rotorua 55 Hauraki Islands Habitats NZ 56 Secret sanctuary 57 Te awa 58 Network enabled army 59 Goblin forest 60 My trapline Obituary 61 Reverend Sylvia Jenkin Market place 62 Classifieds Last word 64 Jumbo’s jaunt Parting shot IBC Chorus cicada 5232

As this magazine goes to print, the Board and our new kaiwhakahaere chief executive Nicola Toki are taking a hard look at how Forest & Bird can be most effective in protecting nature in the future.

EDITORIAL

LANDSCAPECONSERVATIONCHANGING

Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of leading another Forest & Bird fundraising tour through the central North Island rainforests. As leader, I enjoyed imparting my knowledge of conservation, forest species, and ecology, but one of the delights of leading such trips is that I also learn so much from the participants.

The intent is to focus on areas where Forest & Bird can have most impact and a greater alignment between national office, branch, and membership-led campaigns, supporting each other as we work together on shared conservation goals.

Watch this space for more news on this exciting next step in Forest & Bird’s whakapapa.

Mark ForestHanger&Bird President Perehitini, Te Reo o te Taiao

Ngā manaakitanga

As I shared botanical names and ecology on this trip, one tour participant also shared their knowledge of rongoā Māori traditional healing, cultural plant use, and the relationships between the plants and people, past andTheypresent.explained how a forest is a living, breathing entity, and how we need to show great respect to its wairua spirits and protect its mauri life force.

Many of us feel an emotional and spirtual connection to nature but have not been able to express it, instead falling back on scientific terms. Perhaps we undervalue our personal relationship with the environment and how human wellbeing depends on the wellbeing of nature. Western science and matauranga Māori can inform and strengthen each other. The willingness to encompass alternative viewpoints can lead to huge unforeseen gains on all sides. Here at Forest & Bird, I believe we need to keep our collective hearts and minds open and show a similar willingness to embrace alternative views and ways of doingThisthings.willhelp us meet our core mission of protecting and restoring nature in a rapidly changing conservation landscape.Thisisa time of unprecedented pressure on the natural world, be it the ongoing destruction of natural habitats or loss of a living nurturing balance in our oceans.Some pretty significant environmental legislative reform is planned by our government here in Aotearoa. Huge sweeping changes are coming that will impact on resource management, biodiversity protection, freshwater health, marine management, the climate crisis, and our outdated conservation laws. The challenges are immense and diverse, and naturally Forest & Bird wants to be in the thick of it, boots and all, but that is not practical for an organisation of our size. We are a national conservation society but with limited resources. We can’t carry on trying to be all things to conservation all of the time.

Tīeke South Island saddleback, Ulva Island. Jake Osborne | Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao2

To do this, we may partner with other like-minded environmental organisations, including mana whenua, where they are better placed to take the leading role in a conservation campaign or issue.

SOUTHERN FIORDS DISCOVERY

FORGOTTEN ISLANDS

C.Todd© DISCOVER A NEW AOTEAROA L.Thorpe© S.Abraham© M.Potter©

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Experience the grand scale scenery, untamed wilderness, ice-carved mountains, forests, sounds, unique wildlife, rich history, and restoration and conservation projects of Fiordland’s Preservation and Chalky Inlets and Doubtful and Dusky Sounds on this 7-day exploration of the Southern Fiords. 8-14 & 20-26 Jun, 4-10 & 10-16 Aug, 8-14 Sep & 3-9 Oct 2023 From NZ$6,475pp (Salvin’s, twin share, includes all on board accommodation and meals, house drinks, helicopter transfer and all expedition shore excursions) See our website for more incredible Kiwi adventures!

Join acclaimed author, scientist and explorer Professor Tim Flannery as we discover the threatened native species flourishing on Stewart and Ulva Islands and explore New Zealand’s Subantarctic wildlife havens Auckland, Campbell and the Snares Islands. 28 Dec 2022 – 4 Jan 2023 From US$6,250pp (Superior Deck 4, twin share, includes pre/post transfers, one night hotel (incl. dinner/breakfast), all on board accommodation and meals, house drinks with lunch and dinner and all expedition shore excursions.)

Midge Janssen, Palmerston North

Caroline Wood’s article “What Future for Scallops?” paints a bleak picture for wild scallops. However, I could not find a mention of the alternative – farmed scallops. Various species of scallops are farmed throughout the world. My nearest supermarket in Thames sells farmed scallops. Tasty and the price is bearable. They were formerly supplied from Peru. There’s plenty of online references to Peru’s scallop farming. They are now supplied from China, who I understand are the world’s biggest scallop farmers. Wikipedia has an article on the subject: “Scallop Aquaculture”. It also seems there is little in the way of pollution (unlike salmon farming), other than visual. New Zealand has made a success of mussel farming. Scallop farming could be just as successful.

Scallop worries

Perhaps now is the time to start a serious conversation about cats. At present, there is no legislation regarding cats, so perhaps now is the time for Forest & Bird to encourage their local branches to make submissions to their local councils to register and microchip cats. This is especially pertinent where there are open sanctuaries such as Miramar, Te Puna, Whakatane Halo, and Ohiwa Headland, to name a few. What is the use of all this pest control and thousands of volunteer hours when cats are still not controlled and can undo so much good work in one night?

Frank Coulter, Pauanui Beach

Over a number of years, I’ve gone scalloping in Whangarei Harbour and been appalled at the dwindling number of scallops and the huge increase in starfish which feed on them. The large scallops were kept and the starfish thrown back until I suggested they be kept for the compost heap. My hosts have since done that, with success, but there is a limit on how many can be composted in a home garden without impacting on soil balance. Is it not possible for an entrepreneurial organisation to harvest and process the offending starfish in Whangarei Harbour as a commercial fish fertiliser? The situation may be similar in other parts of New Zealand, where the same solution could be tried and assessed. That would give the scallops a chance to reverse the serious rate of decline.

There are proposals to to eradicate all major predators –possums, rats, feral cats, and hedgehogs – from Rakiura Stewart Island (“Pest eradication plan on world’s biggest island”, The Dominion Post, 7 July). The plan ignores other major predators on Rakiura. Each red deer can eat over 20kg per day of the leaves of native plants, fern fronds, mosses, liverworts, and lichens. Each white-tail deer can eat over 10kg per day of our native flora. Both species’ hooves disturb the island’s soils and hasten erosion on slopes. Mice are the other serious pests infesting Rakiura. Mice eat the seeds of native plants, probably preferring the seeds of some species of native plants over those of other species. Thus the seedforaging habits of mice can also alter the composition of Rakiura’s native plant communities. Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research and Predator-Free Rakiura should work to eliminate all pest animal species, including red and white-tail deer plus mice. They are also contributing to the continuing loss of native biodiversity, the taonga of Rakiura National Park. Chris Horne, Wellington Elephant in the room – cats

Aiden Lau, Auckland

WINNERLETTERBEST

I have recently been to Cascades Kauri Park in the Waitakere Ranges, Auckland. I saw large kauri trees and a good mature forest, I saw this place as a perfect place for an introduction of yellow-crowned parakeets as they favour large mature forests and Cascades Kauri Park, and this is basically a pest-free sanctuary. This could mean a reintroduction of yellow-crowned parakeets to the wider Auckland region and possibly spread towards the Hunua Ranges. So my question is, why not try to introduce a few yellow-crowned parakeets back to the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park?

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What about deer?

Meg Collins, Ohiwa Reserves Care Group, Opotiki

LETTERS YOUR FEEDBACK Forest & Bird welcomes your thoughts on conservation topics. Please email letters up to 200 words, with your name, home address, and phone number, to editor@ forestandbird.org.nz, or by post to the Editor, Forest & Bird magazine, 205 Victoria Street, Wellington 6011, by 1 November 2022. We don’t always have space to publish all letters or use them in full.

Editor’s note: Check out page 20 for Forest & Bird’s latest campaign about … cats!

Reintroducing kākāriki

We are offering the chance to win a fabulous two-night stay for two people at Bayview Treehouse, Clifton Hill, Christchurch (valued at $440). Guests stay in a luxury suite with their own access to a private deck and wake up to the sounds of birdsong and the sea. Guests must be 18 years+. For more information and booking conditions, go to https://www.bayviewtreehouse.com

Using publicly accessible data, in excess of one and a half million tonnes fresh weight of seaweed would be needed each year. This would require around 1500km2 of seaweed farm and more than 900,000km of rope! This seems entirely impractical and potentially hugely damaging to coastal ecosystems. Even if methane release were prevented, we would still have the other problems of industrial dairy farming. It seems that, at best, seaweed could only be an expensive partial solution to our country’s massive methane emissions.

Christopher Simmons, Auckland

The winners of Nature Boy: The Photography of Olaf Petersen by Catherine Hammond and Shaun Higgins were Scott Cousins, of Auckland, and Denise Matthews, of Lyttelton.

WIN A WEEKEND AWAY

5Spring 2022 |

Your Winter issue included a letter extolling the use of seaweed to reduce methane emissions from cattle and sheep. Yes, there is strong evidence that the red seaweed Asparagopsis can reduce methane emissions when fed at about 75g dried seaweed daily to each cattle animal. The rapidly developing industry states the reduction as “up to 99%”. However, huge quantities would be required to supply New Zealand’s dairy herd of around six million animals. This would be cultivated in coastal seaweed farms on ropes strung across surface waters. The ropes would be inoculated with spores obtained from seaweed cultures grown in controlled conditions in facilities on land. This would be expensive.

Protect our trees If we are to believe the current fiction that planting enough trees alone will help to reverse climate change, then it begs two questions. Why are Auckland Council and the government still permitting developers to wreak wholesale destruction on mature trees? There are no provisions in the proposed upgrades of the Resource Management Act to reinstate blanket tree protection. And second, why is nothing being done about the “silent tree killer” called mothplant Araujia hortorum that degrades more foliage than kauri dieback disease? Mothplant spreads via aerial seeds, which makes it difficult to contain. Indeed, Auckland Council biosecurity has given up trying to contain its spread. The plant itself is relatively easy to kill – just find the roots, cut them close to the ground, apply herbicide to the stumps immediately. We just need enough people to take action when they see the vine climbing up into a tree in their garden or in their neighbourhood. This will save many mature trees from slow sunlight starvation from the spreading leaves of this “cruel vine”.

Paul Broady, Christchurch

Seaweed not the answer

To be in to win, email your entry to draw@forestandbird.org.nz, put BAYVIEW in the subject line, and include your name and address in the email. Or write your name and address on the back of an envelope and post to BAYVIEW draw, Forest & Bird, PO BOX 631, Wellington 6140. Entries close 1 November 2022, and stays must be taken by 31 March 2023. Looking for our regular book giveaway? ☛ Check out page 49 for the chance to win Life in the Shallows by Karen Denyer and Monica Peters.

The Environmental Defence Society argued that the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement required “avoidance” of adverse effects on outstanding natural character and landscapes.

Resource closelypractitionersmanagementwillbewatchingtoseeifacritical

Is it okay to destroy a rare salt marsh, teeming with native flora and fauna, to make it easier for large ships, especially cruise ships, to enter Otago Harbour?

The policy states the effects of any activity must be “avoided” if they could have adverse impacts on outstanding natural character, outstanding landscapes, significant biodiversity, or surf breaks of national significance.

The Supreme Court found that lower order planning documents (regional plans) had to implement national policy directions, including the “bottom lines” set out in the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement. This set a powerful precedent that every regional council needed to ensure their planning documents reflected these environmental bottomSalmonlines.farming could still go ahead in the Marlborough Sounds, but only in areas where outstanding values areas would not be compromised.Fastforward to the Port Otago Supreme Court hearing in May, where the intention of New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement, which includes a policy recognising the national importance of ports, was once again hotly debated.

Port Otago, which is wholly owned by Otago Regional Council, believes it should be allowed to encroach on high-value coastal areas for a “safe and efficient” ports operation.Ithaspursued the issue in a fouryear legal case that has progressed from the Environment Court through the High Court, Court of Appeal, and finally to the Supreme Court.

Forest & Bird’s lawyer Martin Smith argued that the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement was weighted in favour of the environment.TheMinister of Conservation might have inserted mention of ports, he said, but she deliberately chose wording that meant the port policy would yield to the bottom lines set out in the same policy. The Supreme Court’s decision is expected later this year.

PORTPIVOTALHEARING

Aramoana salt marsh, Otago Harbour.

Janet Ledingham

Forest & Bird’s lawyers are helping fight a legal case in the Supreme Court that could have a significant impact on nature protection across Aotearoa.

Port Otago, which has operations in Dunedin and Port Chalmers, claimed there was a “need” on safety grounds to widen the shipping channel at the entrance to the Otago Harbour to accommodate large cruise ships. This would open the door for the degradation of the Aramoana salt marsh, a nationally important wetland cared for by the Aramoana Conservation Charitable Trust and Forest & Bird volunteers.

NATURE NEWS

King Salmon legal precedent, established by the Supreme Court in 2014, will be upheld, diluted, or overturned in thisAcase.decade ago, the New Zealand King Salmon company sought a plan change and resource consents to establish aquaculture operations next to areas of outstanding natural character and landscape in the Marlborough Sounds.

This question was posed during a recent Supreme Court hearing in a case that pivots around the environmental “bottom lines” set out in the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement – and how these apply to nationally important port operations and road infrastructure.

The first respondent in the case, the Environmental Defence Society, told the court that the term “avoid” was deliberately used in the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement to provide an environmental bottom line to protect the natural values of what was left.

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The key aim of the $68m camera rollout is to provide evidence of any interactions between commercial fishers and critically endangered marine mammals and seabirds. It is also hoped they will act as a deterrent.

“It’s taken a ground swell of public pressure, but we’ve finally achieved what will be a transformative practice for our fishing industry,” said Forest & Bird’s marine advocate Geoff Keey. “This is good news for marine wildlife, for consumers, and for restoring the reputation of the industry.“I’mpleased to report that Forest & Bird played a large part in moving the government and the fishing industry to this point.”

The following year, we pointed out how the reporting of bycatch and discarding increased massively –by three to seven times – in Australia after they put cameras on boats. Meanwhile, public support for cameras on boats and a zero bycatch goal was building. For example, 5000 people backed our camerason-boats submission in 2018. The following year, Forest & Bird launched a zero bycatch campaign, and more than 10,000 people signed our petition calling on the government to take action. Together, we managed to get a zero bycatch target written into the National Plan of Action on Seabirds, released in May 2020, another major win for the marine team.

By uncovering a string of realworld examples, Forest & Bird showed how the misreporting of bycatch deaths was rife.

The cameras will start beaming pictures on 30 November – from boats used by set netters and trawlers operating in Māui dolphin territory, the smallest and rarest dolphin in the world. Thanks to your generous donations, Forest & Bird was able to run a five-year campaign to raise awareness that critically endangered Māui dolphins, Hector’s dolphins, hoiho, and Antipodean albatross were regularly being killed by commercial fishers as bycatch. We showed how their deaths were being covered up by a lack of reporting and misreporting.

“Cameras on fishing boats are a game changer, and the fishing industry fought it every step of the way,” said Megan Hubscher, Forest & Bird’s communications manager. “Thank you to the thousands of people who took action, big or small, refusing to leave the fate of our dolphins, penguins, sharks, and fish up to the commercial fishing industry.”Thecurrent camera rollout will be completed by the end of 2024.

You can read about Forest & Bird’s ocean protection work and make a donation at do/oceansforestandbird.org.nz/what-we-https://www. Forest & Bird wants to see more marine protection at home (see page 14) and overseas (see page 28).

Hector’s dolphin caught in a net Forest & Bird archives FOR DOLPHINS, PENGUINS, PETRELS, AND ALBATROSSES

Gregory

In 2016, for example, the director of a West Coast fishing company admitted during an Employment Relations Authority case that it was “commonplace” for fishers not to report bycatch – even though there was a legal requirement to do so. Forest & Bird issued a media release and referred the case to the Ministry for Primary Industries for investigation.In2017,we used the Official Information Act to obtain data showing penguin bycatch in the set net fishery was almost exclusively reported on vessels with observers.

The rollout of high-tech cameras on 300 fishing boats to reduce bycatch has begun, thanks to a long-running Forest & Bird campaign supported by all of you!

Hector’s dolphin. Smith

☛ HISTORIC WIN 7Spring 2022 |

Many staff have played a key role in the long-running campaign, including Geoff Keey, Megan Hubscher, Karen Baird, Sue Maturin, and Kat Goddard. But they couldn’t have done any of it without your help, especially those who contributed to help fund this marine protection work.

Nature-based climate solutions have been prioritised in the government’s first National Adaptation Plan, thanks to advocacy by Forest & Bird and other e-NGOs.

TIME TO ADAPT

“Many, if not all, of the places we live, work, and love are going to change,” added Nicola.

The proposed mine near Westport will impact on the largest known population of forest ringlet butterfly, the only known site of a species of leaf-veined slug, the only ephemeral (seasonal) wetland in the Ngakawau Ecological District, and the area’s largest population of Parkinson’s rātā. Seawall at Haumoana, Hawke'sCarolineBay.Wood

Published in August, the six-year plan sets out the government’s priorities when it comes to making Aotearoa more resilient.

In particular, Forest & Bird is calling for: A national programme to make “room for rivers” (see the Winter 2022 issue) More pest control across all public land (including all public conservation land) A wetland restoration plan to double the extent of natural wetlands by 2050 n A programme of coastal restoration n Reduced reliance on irrigation n Adaptation costs to be primarily met by greenhouse gas polluters. The 200-page National Adaptation Plan is a long-term strategy to deal with the impacts of climate change.

“I firmly believe we can turn things around if we make the right choices, but we don’t have time to delay. We need to act with urgency andInhope.”the1920s, Forest & Bird’s founding members watched the forest destruction wrought by early settlers and understood it was leading to land erosion and downstream flooding. They campaigned to stop the logging and to remove introduced pests such as the deer and possums that were eating vast quantities of our living forest “cathedrals”. Today, nature-based solutions are increasingly recognised as key to successful climate adaptation.

Forest & Bird staff and volunteers from nearly 50 branches are helping improve climate resilience through a range of nature-based projects, including planting, weeding, and predator control. You can read our detailed submission on the draft national adaptation plan at national-adaptation-planforest-bird-submission-draft-forestandbird.org.nz/resources/https://www.

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The legal team has been busy working on a string of precedent-setting cases this year, including securing an important win in the High Court! In July, Justice Gerald Nation threw out Otago Regional Council’s attempt to have its entire Regional Policy Statement considered a “freshwater planning instrument”. The Council had tried to set a precedent that would have allowed every regional council in the country to shoehorn wider planning matters, such as coastal and air protections, into an “expedited” (that is, less democratic) freshwater planning process.Ournew environmental lawyer May Downing appeared in the High Court in February – it was her first hearing for Forest & Bird and a welldeservedMeanwhile,win! Forest & Bird’s long-running battle to stop an opencast coal mine being built on an untouched mountain top at Te Kuha rumbles on. Led by general counsel Peter Anderson, our lawyers spent months preparing evidence for the two-week hearing at the Environment Court, in Christchurch, in August. We are appealing resource consents granted to Stevenson Mining in 2017 for the proposed mine. The case had been on hold pending other proceedings relating to access arrangements to the public land.

NATURE NEWS

We are looking forward to seeing Ministers turning these good intentions into “reality”, but there’s a lot of work ahead, says chief executive Nicola Toki. “We will be talking to Ministers about hard-wiring nature-based solutions to climate change in RMA reform, the Local Government Act, legislation on managed retreat, and new infrastructure,” she said. “Nature-based solutions like restoring dunes, forests, and wetlands can help us weather climate change impacts, including sea-level rise and extreme weather flooding events.”

NATUREDEFENDING

Forest & Bird thanks pekapeka for their service to the manu of Aotearoa. FOR THE UNDERBIRD!

The bat is bowing out this year to make way for the ... underbird! Yes, we want people to show some love for our less charismatic feathered friends.

“As well as being overlooked by voters, these species are underbirds in real life too, with many threatened with extinction,” added Ellen. After causing a right flap in 2021, the long-tailed bat is returning to his tree roost for a Pekapekarest. has spent months carrying out various Bird of the Year duties, including posing for a new Blunt Umbrella design and a Metalbird sculpture. She’s also enjoyed tasting Bennetto’s new chocolate bar, checking out the new Honeywrap food wrap, and trying on Allbirds’ new BotY-inspired shoe.

VOTE

9Spring 2022 |

In another landmark case, the Society is trying to stop a coal mine in Southland on climate grounds. Last year, our lawyers launched a Judicial Review of the district council’s decision to agree an access arrangement for Bathurst Resources so the company could expand a coal mine in Nightcaps. We believe consideration of climate change impacts was lacking in the decision-making process. Two Youth members, Gemma Marnane and George Hobson, provided legal affidavits for the case, which was heard over two days in Finally,July.in June, Forest & Bird appealed Auckland Council’s decision to grant consents for a 60ha landfill at Dome Valley, Auckland. We are concerned about the potential loss of wetland and stream habitat and impact on native species, including Hochstetter’s frogs and long-tailed bats. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the Save Te Kuha legal appeal last year. None of the cases listed above would have been possible without your generous support. Koekoeā long-tailed cuckoo. Mike Ashbee Forest & Bird lawyer May Downing.

Forest & Bird called expert witnesses in butterflies, invertebrates, flora, birds, land offsetting, landscape, economics, and planning.

Yes, it’s back, the most hotly contested avian election on Earth –Forest & Bird’s Te Manu Rongonui o te Tau kicks off on 17 October and runs for two weeks.

“The election remains fundamentally democratic, but we encourage all voters to research candidates’ policies and perhaps discover a lovable new bird that speaks to them.”

Forest & Bird has developed a list of 20 underbirds, including koekoeā long-tailed cuckoo, moho pererū banded rail, pārera grey duck, pōpokotea whitehead, mātātā fernbird, ngutu pare wrybill, pīwauwau rock wren, and kakī black stilt.

“Skraark! After two successful terms as your Bird of the Year, kākāpō are taking a step back from politics to focus on family,” says VIP spokesbird Sirocco.“Asthere are only 216 of us left on Earth, we need to focus on making more mini kākāpō, so we can grow our moss-chicken army and take over Aotearoa. Boom!”

In shock news, kākāpō will not be running this year – after scooping the title twice in the competition’s 18-year history.

“This year, we hope New Zealanders will get behind an underbird and highlight a species that is overshadowed by their louder or more colourful cousins,” explained Ellen Rykers, Bird of the Year spokesperson.

The kākāpō has not ruled out making a triumphant return to the competition in future.

These Forest & Bird-certified “underbirds” were identified using an algorithm that takes into account votes in previous competitions, media coverage, and conservation status.

birdlife on Kāpiti Island inspired the Society’s founder Ernest “Val” Sanderson to establish a national conservation organisation in 1923.

“He talked about looking to the stars and the heavens, watching how the wind would play across the water, the seabirds, and the direction of migratory fish species, and how intrinsically the wellbeing of the whānau was based on the wellbeing of the environment around them,” she said. “I want to share that with you, Nicola, because you talked about whakapapa. Whakapapa is important for two reasons, not only does tell us the journey we’ve been on but it actually prepares us for the“Today,future. we have both of those elements in the room, to you Kevin for holding the story and moving [Forest & Bird’s] journey into the areas that you’ve moved it, and I know you brought your calm, respect, and integrity to this mahi.

Minister of Conservation Poto Williams popped into Forest & Bird’s national office in June – on her first day in the role! She attended a small ceremony organised by the Board to mark former chief executive Kevin Hague’s retirement and welcome Nicola Toki to Te Reo o te Taiao.

NATURE NEWS

“Our society has a long proud history of being conservation leaders and advocating strongly for evidence-based ideas that were way ahead of their time.

“New Zealand is having a conversation right now about who we are, while staring down the barrel of a biodiversity and a climate crisis. Forest & Bird needs to be at the table when decisions are being made.”

Kevin Hague talked about a recent visit to Tiritiri Matangi Island, near Auckland, that showed him how nature can be restored back to abundance.Herecalled how the shocking state of the bush and disappearing

Forest & Bird’s chief executive Nicola Toki is looking forward to working with new Conservation Minister Poto Williams as she tackles the national biodiversity and climate crises.

From the 1960s, Forest & Bird volunteers helped pioneer island restoration through planting, weeding, and trapping, including on TiritiriNicolaMatangi.Tokisays

Conservation minister Poto Williams with Forest & BIrd’s chief executive Nicola Toki, President Mark Hanger (R) and former chief executive Kevin Hague (L). Caroline Wood

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Minister Williams shared a story about her father, who came from a small island in the northern part of the Cook Islands. Her whānau would travel by boat to cultivate food on other islands.

“It’s meant the journey has advanced to a place where you, Nicola, you come from good bones [referencing her previous roles with DOC], you will pick up this journey, move it forward, and help prepare us for the future.”

SHARING OUR WHAKAPAPA

Forest & Bird’s whakapapa, its 99-year-old history, is part of New Zealand’s story and would inspire her leadership going forward.Sanderson’s efforts to champion mātauranga Māori in the 1920s marked the start of the Forest & Bird story, and one of Nicola’s priorities is to get back to its roots and actively engage with mana whenua on shared conservation goals.“Ithink it’s been really challenging for iwi to see themselves involved with conservation organisations like ours. I want to show it is possible to connect with us naturally and intend to make working with iwi integral to how we work,” says Nicola, whose husband Chris is Ngāpuhi (Ngāti Hau).

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Planted honey,productioncontinuous-coverforests(forfibre,energy)

The aim is to eliminate possums, rats, feral cats, and hedgehogs from the 180,000ha island, which has just 400 permanent residents.

FOUR FORESTS FOR THE CLIMATE

Othersanctuaries.speciesto benefit include tokoeka Stewart Island brown kiwi, hoiho, and tūturiwhatu, the southern sub-species of New Zealand dotterel.

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Planted exotic forests for harvest (fuel and fibre). If adopted, each category would, assuming they were managed appropriately, qualify for carbon credits under the revised Emissions Trading Scheme.

Success could see kākāpō and South Island tīeke being returned to Rakiura from their current offshore island

“It’s incredible that today conservationists are preparing to remove all the introduced predators from an island 180,000 times larger,” added Nicola. Future residents could enjoy millions of seabirds flying into forests at sunset, the chatter of tūī and kākāriki by day, and the sounds of kākāpō and kākā by night.

WoodNewNeilcapital.foreststoisWellingtonBird’sBranchworkinghardrestorenativeinthePicturedHuntandKen.Caroline

The issue has been framed around whether native or exotic trees should be classified as permanent carbon sinks. Unfortunately, this has turned into a “native tree versus pine tree” debate in the media, causing concern among iwi, forestry corporations, carbon farmers, farming industry, and conservation interests.Forest & Bird thinks there is better way forward. We believe the conflict can be resolved by establishing four different categories of carbon sink that include a diversity of habitats and forest management approaches: n Permanent native habitat (old growth) carbon sinks n Forests in transition (future native forests) An exciting plan to remove introduced predators from Rakiura Stewart Island would be the largest island-based eradication ever attempted in the world.Forest Bird welcomes the $2.8m research partnership agreement between Manaaki Whenua and Predator-Free Rakiura.

Earlier this year, Forest & Bird’s climate team pitched an innovative idea – to include four different kinds of carbon sink in the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).

“We believe it would be a winwin outcome for land managers, owners, and kaitiaki while maximising benefits for the climate and natural biodiversity,” says our climate advocate Dean Baigent-Mercer.Forest&Bird made a detailed 26-page submission to the government on the issue. Our climate team has also created a public-facing summary called Four Forests for Climate If you would like a copy, email editor@forestandbird.org.nz

GLOBAL GAME

“Freeing Rakiura from introduced predators is a massively ambitious and important vision that will pave the way for environmental protection in the rest of New Zealand and the world,” said Forest & Bird’s chief executive Nicola Toki. “It will be a global showcase for what’s possible and how to get there. Making this happen will take a huge collaborative effort, and Forest & Bird acknowledges the expertise and dedication involved in thisSixtykaupapa.”years ago, Forest & Bird members led the country’s first humble rat eradication on 1ha Maria Island, in the Hauraki Gulf. Rakiura Stewart Island. Caroline Wood CHANGER Forest &

NATURE NEWS

Removing the possums currently devastating the island’s native forests would also help repair an important carbon sink.

The government is deciding what kinds of forests should remain in the ETS and be eligible for a carbon credit.Under the current scheme, landowners receive one NZU (carbon credit) for every tonne of CO2 that their pre-1989 forest removes from the atmosphere.

Freshwater advocate Tom Kay officially handed over Forest & Bird’s wetlands petition to Eugenie Sage MP in July. We are calling on the government to double wetland extent by 2050, create a wetland protection plan, provide $100m funding for wetland restoration, map coastal wetlands, and stop the introduction of consenting paths for wetland destruction.

“We believe wetlands are climate heroes,” says Tom. “They store large amounts of carbon, create a local cooling effect, and increase climate resilience by keeping us safe from floods.”Every wetland counts because Aotearoa has lost 90% of presettlement wetlands and the remaining 10% continue to be threatened by agriculture, urban development, mining, quarrying, andEachlandfills.newly destroyed wetland

WETLANDSPLANACTIONSHARK PETITION UPDATE

The government released a draft National Plan of Action for Sharks in August. This is a chance to stop their cruel slaughter and protect the incredible diversity of sharks found in our waters. Forest & Bird has been campaigning for stronger protections for our mangō sharks, and we are pleased to see our concerns around animal welfare and non-fishing impacts, including sedimentation, have been included as objectives in the plan. In our last issue, we revealed how some commercial fishers were killing and dumping sharks to save money on fishing hooks – or because they think mangō are pests.

More than 100 shark species have been recorded in Aotearoa New Zealand, and our corner of the Pacific is a stronghold for great white sharks, mako sharks, and blue sharks. As apex predators, these magnificent creatures play a vital role in keeping ocean ecosystems in balance, making them more resilient to climate change.

Forest & Bird wants the final National Plan of Action for Sharks to: n Require the live release of protected sharks and species that aren’t wanted for food n Include a zero-bycatch goal with year-on-year reductions n Adopt a ecosystem-basedprecautionaryapproach to manage shark fishing n Protect shark habitats, including coastal nursery/pupping grounds from pollution and damage. Please make a submission by 13 September 2022 to help save our sharks and promote a healthier ocean at save-our-sharksforestandbird.org.nz/petitions/https://www. negatively affects our climate and reduces biodiversity. That’s why Forest & Bird believes protecting and restoring wetlands is a win for nature, the climate, and communities.Forest&Bird is hoping Parliament’s Environment Committee will call on the Society to present evidence in support of our recent wetlands petition later this year. In the meantime, thank you to the more than 5000 of our members and supporters who signed it! For more on why wetlands are wonderful, see page 48. Blue shark. Darryl Torckler ☛

Tom Kay and Nicky Snoyink hand over Forest & Bird’s wetland petition to Eugenie Sage MP (centre). Spring 2022

| Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao14

Valerio Micaroni, Francesca Strano, and Nicole Miller Valerio Micaroni

The nudibranch Jason mirabilis crawling on the colourful reef.

FASCINATING FIND COVER That morning, we were scheduled to do an exploratory dive at one of the most inaccessible sites on the Cook Strait – a reef that lies between the North Island and the South Island and extends from 15m to more than 100m deep, beaten almost constantly by the currents of the strait, the legendary Fisherman’s Rock. Our team consisted of some experienced divers from the Wellington Underwater Club, including us three and Rob Edwards. We were well equipped for a drift dive with underwater scooters, PLBs, and cameras, and eager to find out what organisms lived on a reef so exposed to the current and difficult to reach. We set out from Mana Marina at first light to arrive at slack tide. But the sea conditions were different from the forecast, and soon we realised that we would have to change our plans. Disappointed, we returned closer to shore in search of a calm and sheltered area and found ideal conditions for a dive at Ohau Point, off Wellington’s west coast, south of Makara Beach. The seabed on the depth sounder looked perfect for an exploratory dive. We didn’t think twice, and after a safety briefing we jumped in the water. Going down, the visibility was poor. We still had Fisherman’s Rock in mind and were upset not to have been able to go. Suddenly, below 15m, the water became crystal clear, and we arrived at the bottom at 25m of depth. Initially, we were surprised by the complexity of the seabed: steep pinnacles and rocky outcrops were scattered on a coarse sandy bottom, creating a dramatic seascape. But as soon as we turned on the torches we were blown away by the beauty that surrounded us. Every inch of rock was soaked with life, and the sand was covered by a carpet of white-striped anemones (Anthothoe albocincta) that seemed like a meadow of daisies. We found ourselves surrounded by a myriad of sponges, anemones, sea squirts, hydroids, and bryozoans (moss animals) of the most varied colours and shapes. Some of the sponges were huge and had probably been living there undisturbed We could not believe our eyes when we found anemoneslushimmersedourselvesinandvibrantspongegardenssurroundedbyathickcarpetofhostingarichanddiversefishlife.

A last-minute change of plans led to the exciting discovery of a previously unknown “marine animal forest” off Wellington’s west coast. We need to better protect these underappreciated and vulnerable ecosystems.

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In New Zealand, famous examples of mesophotic ecosystems are found in Fiordland, where deep-sea animals such as black corals and glass sponges can be admired at snorkelling depths, and at the Poor Knights Islands, where sheer walls, shaded archways, and deep reefs are covered in non-moving invertebrates. These habitats are probably found everywhere around New Zealand, but they are not well documented because they are difficult to access.

Mesophotic ecosystems might also act as potential refugia from human impacts. Many mesophotic reefs occur far from the coast and are difficult to reach in areas where they are less affected by land pollution and fishing. Being less impacted, mesophotic communities could play an important role in re-seeding impacted shallow-water communities.

Filter-feeders such as sponges have the very important role of capturing organic matter present in the water column and making it available as a food source for small animals living on the seafloor, such as worms, snails, shrimps, and crabs. These become food for bigger animals such as fish, making an important contribution to the marine food chain.

Large grey sponges Ecionemia alata surrounded by hundreds of butterfly perches.

15Spring 2022 |

for hundreds of years, such as the massive grey sponge, Ecionemia alata. In this wonderful habitat, an extraordinary diversity of other organisms found shelter. Extravagant nudibranchs, snails, sea stars, and crabs crowded the seafloor. Clouds of butterfly perches surrounded us and accompanied us throughout the dive. Blue moki, terakihi, and porae were coming out shyly from gullies and swim-throughs to check who the strange visitors were. We had the great fortune to land in a wonderful and relatively unknown ecosystem –like an underwater forest inhabited by marine animals rather than birds, insects, and bats!

Ohau Point’s reef is a perfect example of a temperate mesophotic ecosystem. These habitats occur in the so-called “mesophotic” or twilight zone, which lies between the well-lit shallow waters and the dark deep sea. There, the light is too faint for most seaweed to grow, so the seafloor gets colonised by sessile (nonmoving) animals and some shade-adapted seaweeds. At this depth, the dominant organisms providing structural habitat are sponges, corals, sea squirts, and bryozoans. These creatures create stunning colourful reefs, also known as “marine animal forests”. Mesophotic sponges, corals, and bryozoans can reach considerable sizes, creating complex three-dimensional structures that increase biodiversity and support marine productivity. Like terrestrial forests, these ecosystems offer habitat for a wide range of other organisms, serving as safe shelters, nurseries, breeding grounds, and feeding grounds for a multitude of animals, including commercially valuable species.

But temperate mesophotic ecosystems are vulnerable because of the characteristics that make them special. Many of the marine organisms that create these mesophotic forests are long lived and slow growing, taking tens to thousands of years to reach a substantial size. Because of this, mesophotic ecosystems have a limited ability to respond to human impacts, and recovery rates are often in the order of decades or centuries. As a result, the scientific community recognises mesophotic animal forests as vulnerable habitats that deserve special research attention and legal protection.

Mesophotic organisms play key functional roles in recycling nutrients, linking the water column and the seafloor. Indeed, sponges, corals, and other mesophotic habitat-forming species are filter and suspension feeders, meaning that they feed on plankton and other small particles present in the water column. In fact, the distribution of mesophotic communities not only depends on light conditions but also on marine currents, which transport food to them.

Many human activities pose a threat to mesophotic communities, including all activities that involve contact with the seabed. Many of these animals are Francesca Strano floats above the mesophotic reef and sponge gardens at Ohau Point, which were discovered by chance in August 2021.

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At home and overseas, mesophotic ecosystems are largely unexplored, and most still lack scientific documentation. Their exploration has been limited by the complicated logistics and technological requirements compared to shallower habitats. Indeed, mesophotic ecosystems lie beyond the limits of conventional scientific diving and require expensive specialised equipment. But, thanks to the recent technological development of underwater drones (ROVs) and technical diving, we are slowly learning more about these ecosystems and the important role they play in the oceans.

For more photos and videos of Ohau Point go to www.underwaterbiodiversity.com/ohau

Callyspongia ramosa. The biscuit star Pentagonaster pulchellus.

Wellington easily damaged by any type of bottom fishing – lines and nets easily become entangled in erect organisms, creating damage and often ripping them from the bottom, while pots and anchors crush their delicate bodies. Sediment plumes raised by trawling and seabed mining can cover and smother mesophotic communities, which are composed primarily of filterfeedingOrganismsanimals.living at these depths are adapted to constant low temperature conditions. As a result, these communities are particularly vulnerable to ocean warming and marine heat waves, which have already caused many die-offs in other temperate seas, such as theTheMediterranean.discoveryof mesophotic animal forests so close to the capital has sparked renewed interest in these vulnerable and largely unknown ecosystems. The road to a complete understanding of these unique marine habitats is still long and time is short. We must therefore roll up our sleeves to ensure the conservation of mesophotic ecosystems in New Zealand as in the rest of the world.

At the national level, the Department of Conservation started a project in 2020 investigating deeper reefs of Aotearoa (30–300m), aimed at drawing a more accurate picture of these ecosystems, their associated biodiversity, and the threats they are facing. Regional councils are starting to investigate mesophotic reefs as sites of biodiversity importance.

Being poorly known, mesophotic ecosystems and animal forests rarely fall under the protection of environmental legislation. Most marine reserves don’t include mesophotic reefs in their boundaries or only cover their shallower part. One of the few exceptions is Parininihi Marine Reserve in North Taranaki, which was specifically designed to protect mesophotic sponge gardens. We cannot protect what we do not know. Therefore, the first step is to explore, map, and characterise the mesophotic habitats and their impacts in New Zealand.

. → • Ohau

ArborescentPointsponge

In particular, the Great Wellington Regional Council, DOC, and the Victoria University of Wellington are collaborating for the characterisation of shallow and mesophotic animal forests in the Wellington region, including the sponge garden of Ohau Point.

“These ecosystems play an important role in mitigating marine biodiversity loss and acting as an important refugia from human impacts on our oceans, including climate change and Mesophoticover-fishing.”means“middle-light” and marine animal forests are found between 20m and 150m, which is deeper than most scuba divers can safely work.

Te Mana o te Taiao, the government’s Biodiversity Strategy, has a goal that significant progress will have been made in identifying and mapping marine ecosystems of high biodiversity value by 2025.

Geoff Keey Gully covered by sponges and jewel anemones.

“It’s why they remain undescribed, unmapped, and unprotected in many countries, including New Zealand, adds“MoreGeoff.research and conservation are needed to conserve these vulnerable habitats.”

This exciting marine find, just a few kilometres from the capital, shows how little we know about our oceans, says Geoff Keey, Forest & Bird’s marine spokesperson.

Valerio Micaroni and Francesca Strano are marine ecologists from Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington and authors of several scientific articles in international journals on mesophotic ecosystems and other topics. Valerio has just completed his doctoral studies with a thesis on human impacts on mesophotic ecosystems. Francesca is at the end of her PhD, studying the effects of climate change on marine sponge reproduction. Their website is underwaterbiodiversity.com.www. Nicole Miller is the Chair of the Friends of Taputeranga Marine Reserve Trust, is President of the Wellington Underwater Club, and runs various marine citizen science projects – see https:// adventure360.co.nz/.

Valerio FrancescaMicaroniStranoNicoleMiller

To find out more about Forest & Bird’s marine protection work, go to www.forestandbird.org.nz

17Spring 2022 |

SAVE OUR SEAS

“Thanks to the work of dedicated marine scientists like Valerio, Francesca, and Nicole, we are slowly learning more about the important functions these mesophotic animal forests provide,” he said.

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To change this identification crisis, a small group of butterfly enthusiasts and experts have teamed up with the Moths and Butterflies of New Zealand Trust to create the Butterfly Discovery Project.

BIODIVERSITY

The disappearance of the original New Zealand copper butterfly specimen is significant because, without a type specimen, scientists don’t have a reference point to refer back to or DNA sequence. It means they have to start from scratch with a new specimen. Then they can identify the rest of the species and unravel the mystery of the different coppers.

“He explained there was a mix-up with the original New Zealand copper butterfly specimen that was sent to London in the late 1700s. It was then lost.

PROJECTDISCOVERY

Can you imagine not having a name? Believe it or not, the majority of our butterflies have not yet been described! In fact, less than 50% of New Zealand’s insects have a scientific description at all.

“If we can’t identify them, how can we save them from extinction?” says Dutch-New Zealand naturalist Ruud Kleinpaste aka The Bug Man, who is supporting theTheproject.project’s first mission is to investigate New Zealand’s largest group of butterflies, known as pepe para riki or copper butterflies. Copper butterflies, part of the Lycaena family, are an open country butterfly that is seen in most types of habitat from sea level to 2000m. They are currently grouped into only four scientifically named species – common copper, boulder copper, glade copper, and Rauparaha’s copper. There may actually be up to 20 individual species. This creates major confusion for scientists and enthusiasts alike. The copper was the first Aotearoa butterfly to be identified, and this was done from a painting! “It was Dr George Gibbs who encouraged me to begin this project,” says butterfly enthusiast Angela Moon-Jones, who is managing the project.

Kiwi scientists and volunteers are on a mission to identify all of our unnamed native butterflies.

“It’s quite a mystery and desperately needs to be resolved, but the good news is that we can help identify pepe para riki using today’s scientific processes.” Taxonomy is the science of discovering, classifying, This butterfly is classified as a “common copper” but looks completely different from the two other “copper” butterflies pictured below.

Scientific names are the key to understanding the environment, to identifying which species are most at risk of their habitats being destroyed.

The project team is hoping to raise $130,000 to fund a PhD student to undertake DNA sequencing. This will help scientists form a genealogical tree of the New Zealand copper butterfly fauna to resolve the ongoing confusion over this species. This work, which is expected to take up to three years to complete, will be carried out under the supervision and guidance of University of Auckland Professor Thomas Buckley and Dr Robert Hoare of Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research. Other butterfly experts who also support this project include Dr George Gibbs, Robert Jones, Brian Patrick, and Dr Lyn Barnes.

Angela Moon-Jones and Robert Jones

19Spring 2022 |

A copper conundrum: two “common coppers” photographed at Chrystalls Beach, south of Dunedin, but they don’t look the same and it’s suspected they are different species.

Jacqui Knight is founder of the Moths and Butterflies of New Zealand Trust. Find out more at project/nzbutterflies.org.nz/projects/butterfly-discovery-https://www. . and naming organisms so we can better understand them and their natural world, and then restore their habitats.

Jacqui Knight

Butterfly

For example, a tūturiwhatu banded dotterel population at Kaikōura faces a constant onslaught of cats, both feral and domestic. In one season, the birds built 46 nests but only two chicks made it to adulthood. The rest were wiped out, most of them by cats. Trappers from Te Manahuna Aoraki project, who are trying to protect the last few hundred nationally critical kakī black stilts in the Mackenzie Basin, have eliminated more than 770 feral cats over the last two and a half years. Cat dumping at Mangamingi has been a continual source of frustration for Forest & Bird’s South Taranaki Branch, where they are trying to protect kiwi in the face of a continual slew of dumped cats, many of which are sick and starving.

PREDATOR-FREE NZ

We love our cats. They are the pet we are most likely to own, but more needs to be done to manage them and stop the huge armies of feral and stray cats ripping through our wildlife. Cats also carry zoonotic diseases that spread between animals and humans. There is something we can do to improve the situation. Introducing a Cat Management Act would normalise the responsibility that comes with cat ownership, as the Dog Control Act 1996 does for dogs. We’d like the Act to include compulsory desexing and mandatory microchipping. Ideally, it would also include a three-cat limit per household.

CATSABOUT | Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao20

TIME TO TALK

Microchipping is a well-supported cat management

Amelia Geary

Globally, domestic cats have contributed to at least 63 vertebrate extinctions. Here in New Zealand, poorly managed pet cats are creating huge populations of stray and feral cats that are devastating local populations of endemic birds, lizards, and insects.

Forest & Bird wants the government to introduce a national Cat Management Act with the mandated registration and desexing of pet cats to protect our wildlife.

Last year, the owners of Tunanui Station, west of Napier, trapped and shot more than 400 feral cats, many of which were abandoned pregnant females.

A Cat Management Act would give certainty to cat owners and regulators alike, while improving the welfare of all cats and local wildlife. The reproductive potential of a single female cat is estimated at 300 kittens in her reproductive lifetime. The potential for a male cat is far beyond that. Compulsory desexing of cats is an obvious way to reduce the unwanted cat population.

A feral cat and swallow at Pekapeka Wetlands, Hawke’s Bay John Nelson

New Zealand is awash with cats. There are thought to be about 1,134,000 companion cats and 196,000 strays in the country. There is no data on feral cat abundance in Aotearoa, but it is widely accepted they number in the millions.

Currently, most councils are reluctant to regulate cats in their areas despite evidence showing that doing nothing leads to animal cruelty, nuisance, the spread of disease, and biodiversity loss.

tool in New Zealand. The Ministry for Primary Industry’s recommended best practice is that cats should be identified with a microchip.

Three different feral cats caught on camera at Kaweka Forest Park, Hawke’s Bay, where conservationists are trapping feral cats close to the river’s edge to protect local kiwi and whio. ECOED/Save Our Kaweka Kiwi

Given microchipping is compulsory for dog owners, few truly loving cat owners will be put off by the cost of microchipping to ensure the protection of their companion animal. It also presents an opportunity to educate cat owners, who may be oblivious to how far their cats are roaming and the consequent impact on local birds and lizards. Animal welfare charities support the need for a national Cat Management Act. In 2021, Companion Animals New Zealand said an Act would “allow for a significant improvement in the lives of New Zealand cats”. In 2022, the SPCA published a peer-reviewed article about free-roaming cats in the journal Animals that concluded the best outcome for cat welfare and wildlife protection would be through a National Cat Act.

For example, Waipā District Council did not regulate cats through its bylaw review even though domestic cats are threatening endangered North Island kōkako. Some councils, including Auckland and Dunedin, have recently ruled cats out of scope before the public even had the chance to submit their views (see overleaf). Those that do attempt to regulate cats are doing so in a fragmented and inconsistent way.

LACK OF COUNCIL ACTION

Illustration: Lyall’s wren by John Keulemans, 1885.

The remains of a kererū were found in the stomach of one trapped feral cat recently. Two tagged kiwi are thought to have been killed by cats in Kaweka Forest Park. Feral cats caused the extinction of the Lyall’s wren on Stephens Island in the Marlborough Sounds in 1895. It was New Zealand’s only known flightless songbird. The last of the cats were removed 30 years later, but it was too late to save the species.

For example, Wellington City and Selwyn councils have bylaws for mandatory microchipping but no limit on numbers of cats per household and no requirement to desex.Tararua District has a three cat per household limit and requirement to desex but does not require microchipping.Eighteencouncils have cat limits, ranging from two to five, but few councils have put up additional funds to enforce their own bylaws.

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Forest & Bird regularly makes submissions to councils when they review their animal bylaws. We have noticed public submissions consistently raise the need for cat regulation – but some councils are citing the absence of a national direction as an excuse not to regulate cat ownership.

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In 2021, for example, Whangārei District Council consulted the public about new cat regulations. Of the 1412 submissions received, the vast majority (1318) supported desexing, while 1287 supported compulsory microchipping and registering.

Our adorable pet companions are also apex predators, particularly if abandoned in the bush. Microchipping would help return lost cats to their owners.

Earlier this year, Parliament’s Petitions Committee invited Forest & Bird to make a written submission commenting on the issues raised by a petition submitted by Erica Rowlands, who called for the mandated registration and desexing of pet cats and kittens. In August, Forest & Bird was also invited to make an oral submission to the Environment Committee on Rowlands’ petition.

The following May, Whangārei councillors voted to introduce mandatory microchipping and desexing into its Keeping of Animals Bylaw. They also approved $87,000 per year for an Animal Compliance and Education Officer, noting that this funding would provide for education and compliance management.

CHANGING VIEWS ON

The time is right for government ministers to step up and introduce a Cat Management Act to improve the lives of cats and our precious wildlife.

PREDATOR-FREE NZ

“The Dog Control Act 1996 contains express provisions for Council to prescribe how dogs are to be controlled in public places. There is no equivalent specific legislation that applies for the control of cats in publicDespiteplaces.”marketing itself as the Wildlife Capital of New Zealand, Dunedin did not introduce cat-specific clauses into its bylaw.

AKeeping of Animals Bylaw created under the Local Government Act is currently the best tool available to district and city councils for regulating domestic cats. Whanganui District Council has the strongest cat regulation in the country, with a three-cat limit and compulsory microchipping and desexing of any cat over four months old. Palmerston North is the only other council in the country with a similarly rigorous bylaw. Recent experience demonstrates that these kinds of restrictions are not controversial. In fact, they are strongly desired by some communities.

Why is local government struggling to act? The answer is that cat control is an emotive issue littered with misinformation and misunderstanding. Most councils have put it in the too hard basket, especially in the absence of clear, nationally consistent guidance. But we know this can change. Because that’s what happened with dog control. Thirty years ago, dogs roamed the streets, and CAT REGULATION

Similarly, Dunedin City Council notified its Keeping of Animals Bylaw review last year, saying: “Local authorities are somewhat limited in their bylaw making powers in relation to the control of cats.

Auckland Council notified its Animal Management Bylaw review last year but explicitly stated cats were not within scope. It said: “Council has ... determined that suggestions about registration and microchipping of cats require central government legislation similar to the Dog Control Act 1996 to be effective.”

Forest & Bird believes national legislation is the only viable solution for achieving consistent rules that cat owners will trust and councils can enforce without it costing the Earth.

everyone thought it was normal. Then, in 1996, the government passed the Dog Control Act, making dog registration mandatory and councils responsible for the control of dogs. It improved dog welfare and made the public safer. The social licence to own a companion cat and let it have litters of unwanted kittens, eat endangered birds and lizards, spread disease, and get into fights is waning, as it did for dogs. In a recent survey, 85% and 90% of participants agreed that action should be taken towards controlling feral and unmanaged stray cats respectively.

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n Feral cats – wild animals that receive no human support.

FIVE REASONS TO ACT

The public wants the government and councils to get serious about cat management, and to do this we need a national plan of action that is simple, trusted, and cost-effective.

n It would also normalise the responsibility that comes with cat ownership, as the Dog Control Act 1996 now does for dogs.

A Cat Management Act would provide consistency across the whole country and help councils improve the management and welfare of cats and local wildlife in their districts.

A Cat Management Act would help stop companion and stray cats transitioning into feral cats. It would reduce the risk of them starving to death or being trapped and killed in the bush. Let us know what you think! Do you agree with the need for a Cat Management Act? Are feral cats destroying biodiversity in your backyard? Send examples or tell us how birdlife recovered when feral cats were removed from the bush. Email editor@ forestandbird.org.nz

n Stray cats – not owned but supported directly or indirectly by humans, for example, by the ad hoc provision of food and shelter

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n Community groups, councils, and the Department of Conservation will be able to control stray cats, return microchipped animals to their owners, and better protect our birds, lizards, and insects.

This article talks about three different kinds of cat:

n Companion (pet) cats – animals owned by humans

n It’s the humane thing to do – we need to stop tens of thousands of unwanted domestic cats and kittens being abandoned to live stressful lives as stray or feral cats.

Help us advocate for a national Cat Management Act by making a donation today at www.forestandbird.org.nz/actforcats.

F&B PROJECT

Research student Caitlyn Friedel cried when she first saw goldstripe geckos at Forest & Bird’s Bushy Park Tarapuruhi Sanctuary. Now she is studying them for her Master’s!

Although goldstripe geckos were known to be present in the sanctuary, more have been found there over the past two years. I jumped at the chance to do some research in my own backyard. I had just won the JP Skipworth scholarship from Massey University, which would help fund my study. Everything just fell into place.

Caitlyn, Martin West and David Pease prepare 161 lizard tracking tubes. Mandy Brooke developed by Halema Jamieson, who is my other Master’s supervisor.

| Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao24

The first part of the fieldwork was to place lizard tracking tubes in various locations around the sanctuary. Lizard tracking tubes are a detection method recently

GOING FOR GOLD

Doug stopped in front of a large pile of fencing material with a piece of corrugated iron on top. He lifted the corrugated iron, and there were two beautiful copper-coloured goldstripe geckos (Woodworthia chrysosiretica) just minding their own business. He carefully picked up one to show me. I cried. I had never seen a gecko before, and they were just stunning little creatures. It was definitely a fan-girl moment!

The goldstripe gecko is a threatened endemic New Zealand species and is listed as “at risk”. Threats to this species include habitat loss and degradation, introduced predators such as rats, stoats, cats, and mice, and chemical sprays such as herbicide.

Doug was shocked I had such a strong reaction and said that he was looking for someone to carry out research on the Bushy Park Tarapuruhi population.

Goldstripe gecko Carey Knox

Ifirst came face to face with a moko mangaeka while helping my Massey University research supervisor Doug Armstrong carry out a hihi bird survey at Bushy Park Tarapuruhi.

The tubes are made from 50mm Alkathene pipe and fitted with pre-inked black Trakka cards and baited with a piece of tinned pear. This method has been used to successfully detect goldstripe geckos and has been trialled in other lizard monitoring projects around the country, with promising results.Forest sanctuary manager Mandy Brooke and Bushy Park Tarapuruhi volunteers helped me place and monitor the 161 tracking tubes around the reserve. We put them in likely goldstripe gecko microhabitats, including harakeke bushes, forest epiphytes, hollow/rotting logs, and among rocks and leaf litter. They also went along the predator-free fence that surrounds Bushy Park. The Trakka cards enabled me to determine whether the goldstripes were present in that location. The sanctuary is also home to forest geckos and northern grass skinks.

The aim of my research is to develop a low-impact population-monitoring programme that will obtain useful abundance and distribution data for the goldstripe gecko population in Bushy Park Tarapuruhi.

If you want to support Forest & Bird’s conservation work at Bushy Park Tarapuruhi, please make a donation at www.forestandbird.org.nz/donate gecko is marked to help future identification.CaitlynFriedel

Then I went out hand-searching for them. Goldstripe geckos are cathemeral, which means they are active at different times during the day and the night. I searched day and night in the locations that had goldstripe footprints left on the Trakka cards. When I found one, I had to be quick to catch it!

I measured and weighed the gecko and marked it with a unique symbol using a non-toxic silver marker. I also took photos of any unusual markings that could be used to identify the individual from a distance. The geckos were also sexed, and I determined whether the females were gravid (pregnant). Goldstripe females give birth to live young (usually twins) around late February to early March. I loved every minute of my research and am very grateful to Mandy Brooke, Dale Pullen, and the volunteer team at Bushy ParkI’mTarapuruhi.currentlypart way through my data analysis and writing, and hope to have my thesis completed by February 2023. Caitlyn Friedel is studying for a Master’s in Conservation Biology at Massey University.

Forest & Bird’s Bushy Park Tarapuruhi Sanctuary is located 5km south of Taranaki and, being located in the Whanganui-Manawatū region, is the only known mainland population outside Taranaki.

. Each

MANGAEKAMOKO 25Spring 2022 |

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Goldstripe geckos are only found in the North Island, and they have only been recognised as a distinct separate species since 1980. New populations continue to be discovered, especially in Taranaki, which makes the region particularly important for its conservation. They also live on the pest-free islands of Mana and Kāpiti near Wellington.

You can help encourage skinks and geckos in your garden by planting native vegetation such as flax to enhance habitat for geckos. Controlling predators, including feral cats, rats, and stoats, also helps protect our precious gecko populations.

Every week brings a new photograph of our unique landscapes, plants and wildlife. This quality week-to-view diary features public holidays, and a lay-ﬂat spiral binding. superb photographs of our extraordinary wildlife and wilderness habitats taken by some of our leading nature photographers. Weighs less than 200g for economic postage. Envelope included. purchasing this calendar are contributing to conservation work in New Zealand. Forest & Bird’s online shop, see https://shop.forestandbird.org.nz/

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Featuring

Keri Hulme whitebaiting in 1983. Philip Tremewan/Wikimedia

Thirty-five years ago, a writer at the height of her powers helped Forest & Bird advocate for the first World Heritage site in Aotearoa. Caroline Wood “ was illustrated by landscape photographer Craig Potton. Forests, Fiords & Glaciers editor Gerard Hutching, who also produced the Society’s magazine, recalls picking up Keri’s Wellington.Orientalmanuscript2500-wordfromanBayhotel,in“Itwasaninspired piece. It was definitely the most interesting and quirky [chapter] to read,” he said. “As an editor, I had the job of accepting her typology, grammar, and spelling, which was quite idiosyncractic, but I went with most of it.”

The joint campaign with the Department of Conservation and Ngāi Tahu was a success. In 1990, Unesco recognised a huge area of mountains, forests, and wetlands from Ōkārito to Waitutu as Te Wāhipounamu World Heritage Area. It contained some of the best examples of the original flora and fauna of Gondwana on the planet.

“It is a labour of love for all participants, with proceeds going to support Māori writers.”

KERI LEGACYHULME’S

Keri lived in the remote coastal settlement of Ōkārito, in South Westland, for nearly 40 years. She believed the area deserved special government protection and actively opposed plans to develop the area for housing or tourism.

Keri Hulme addresses Forest & BIrd’s AGM in 1993. Forest & Bird Archives

The land invited people: the people came,” wrote Keri Hulme in Forests, Fiords & Glaciers: The Case for a SouthWest New Zealand World Heritage Site, a book published by Forest & Bird in 1987.Theacclaimed West Coast author and poet (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe) was asked to contribute a chapter to add a strong indigenous voice to Forest & Bird’s campaign to establish a World Heritage area in south-west NewKeriZealand.Hulme was a lifelong conservationist and long-time Forest & Bird member. She won the Booker Prize in 1985 for her first novel, The Bone People, which was described as a “unique example of Māori magical realism”. Two years later, Forest & Bird asked Keri to contribute to its World Heritage campaign and book. She wrote vividly about the area’s rich cultural history and significance to Māori. It

“For me, the book is a way for people who knew Keri to share their stories about her, as they might otherwise have done at a tangi or funeral,” says Marian Evans, who is editing the book.

Portait 1983. Philip Tremewan/ Wikimedia

On publication, Gerard sent Keri a copy of the book, thanking her and saying it was good to see the Māori history of Te Tai Poutini recorded in a popular work, possibly for the first time, outside of newspaper articles.

HISTORY

She died last December aged 74. Later this year, some of Keri’s friends and whānau are planning to celebrate her extraordinary life with a new e-book called Keri: Our Kuru Pounamu. It will include the landmark chapter the writer penned for Forest & Bird.

Keri: Our Kuru Pounamu will be published later this year by the Spiral Collective.

| Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao26

“It includes tributes from whānau, those she called her tahu-tuhituhi fellow writers and artists, as well as neighbours and friends. Keri’s own voice is in there, with some of her writing that complements the stories others tell.

Wetlands,development.andforneedthesmallerandrestoration.wetlandDragonflies,theircousinsdamselflies,freshwatertheiregglarvalponds, and seeps are the main habitats for New Zealand’s nativeNewspecies.Zealand’s endemic dragonflies are threatened by the ongoing loss of their habitat. But volunteer groups like Matuku Link are fighting back and restoring their local wetlands for the benefit of all species, including insects. The anti-birdstrike stickers would make a great present for any bird or dragonfly lover! You can buy the $25 set from Matuku Link’s website at dragonflies/matukulink.org.nz/product/https:// . All funds raised go work.conservationwetlandMatukutowardsLink’s

BIRDSTRIKEITSTICKINGTO

BIODIVERSITY

Dragonflies and damselflies are part of the ancient insect order Odonata, with their fossils being discovered from 250 million years ago. All species are carnivorous and have an incredible aerobatic flying ability, allowing them to capture their targets with a 95% success rate. By comparison, lions catch only 25% of their intended prey. They also have 360˚ vision with up to 11 lightsensitive opsins (we humans have three). There are 14 Odonata species in New Zealand.

The stickers were illustrated by Professor Albert Orr. Spring |

Ever heard the sickening thwack of a bird hitting your windows? Help is at hand thanks to these lovely new dragonfly window stickers. John Sumich

Kapokapowai, the giant mountain dragonfly, is endemic to Aotearoa. Jake Osborne Grace West, the writer’s granddaughter, with one of the anti-birdstrike dragonfly stickers.

Each restoration.wetlandgoandsevencontainspackstickers,proceedstowards

Illustrated by retired ecologist Professor Albert Orr, the set, which includes an informative poster, is being sold as a fundraiser to support

Thousands of birds are thought to die from collisions with windows every year in New Zealand. Many more are injured, often only to succumb afterwards from their injuries or to be predated in their impairedAlarmedstate.perhaps by domestic pets, other birds, or by human activity, they flee along what seems a clear pathway to safety. They may also be deceived by reflections of trees or sky in the glass. Time of day, season, or sun angle may increase the risks, as does the modern tendency for decks to have clear glass Groundedbalustrades.birdsthat survive a collision can look stunned, but leave them alone and see if they recover on their own. Those that are injured can sometimes be treated by a local bird rescue organisation or vet. Carefully place the bird in a dark box before transport.Asalways, prevention is better than cure, and the simplest measure of course is not to clean your windows! However, most householders like to have clear views so alerting the birds to the presence of the glass is the next step. Volunteers from wetland restoration project Matuku Link, west of Auckland, have created a set of anti-birdstrike window stickers featuring seven gorgeous Aotearoa dragonflies.

2022

Why isn’t New Zealand’s government doing more to speak up for our oceans and marine life on the world stage? Teall Crossen

for example, has triggered a clause under the United Nations Law of the Sea paving the way for deepsea mining in its waters. But there is a growing global concern about the impact of mining valuable minerals from the seafloor.

Our oceans contain bluegold – potentially highly valuable deposits of the copper, nickel, cobalt, iron, manganese, and rare earth elements contained in rock formations on theWhileseafloor.commercial deep seabed mining in international waters has not yet started, that may change –andNauru,soon.

Fiji,Guinea,Papualeadersincludeslaunched.Regenvanu,RalphwasThecollectivePacificfromNewGuam,FrenchPolynesia, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, and Palau, as well as some MPs from Aotearoa. They share strong concerns about global corporations and powerful governments’ plans to exploit the Pacific Ocean floor for minerals.Tuvalu has withdrawn its support for seabed mining in international waters, and there is strong opposition from Pacific civil society and conservation groups. At the United Nations Oceans Conference in Portugal in June, Palau, Fiji, and Samoa announced their opposition to deep-sea mining and launched a new alliance of countries supporting a seabed mining moratorium – with Micronesia joining shortly after. Beyond the Pacific, some global companies have also joined the movement. Google, BMW, Volvo, and Samsung SDI support a moratorium on deep-sea mining and have committed not to source minerals from the deep seabed. Seabed mining can have devastating impacts, including heavy metal contamination, potentially irreversible destruction of seabed floor habitat, and noise. Exploiting the depths of the Pacific Ocean for rare minerals is controversial.increasinglyMarianaTrench

Ralph Regenvanu Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao

MARINE

It’s time for Aotearoa New Zealand to stop being the laggard and become part of the solution.

Last year, 81 countries and government agencies called for a seabed mining moratorium at the IUCN World Conservation Congress.Aotearoa New Zealand was not one of them. The geopolitics of seabed mining is complex. Some of our Pacific neighbours, including Nauru, the Cook Islands, and Kiribati, are exploring partnerships with mining companies.However, any income generated is far from guaranteed. Papua New Guinea, for example, is predicted to lose around $157m from a failed attempt at mining from deep-sea vents.Elsewhere in the Pacific, opposition to seabed mining is growing. In April, the Pacific Parliamentarians’ Alliance on Deep Sea Mining, chaired by Vanuatu’s opposition leader

MINING MINERALSFOR

The framework is definitely a step in the right direction – it is more ambitious than previous UN targets that have failed to arrest biodiversity decline.

Decarbonising the economy requires massive energy shifts and demand reduction, rather than greenwashing the status quo.

MISSING IN ACTION

NIWA

In June, a petition signed by more than 35,000 New Zealanders was delivered to Parliament urging the government to ban seabed mining in Aotearoa. The signatures were gathered by several groups, including Forest & Bird, Kiwis Against Seabed Mining, Greenpeace, ECO, LegaSea, WWF, and Te Pāti Māori. and global campaign to protect the deep seabed?

→

Where has Aotearoa New Zealand been in the regional Hydrothermal vents like these on the volcanic Kermadec Ridge, north of New Zealand, can hold valuable mineral deposits. But these underwater springs are also an important environmental niche for life in the deep.

In fact, alternative battery technologies are being developed that would avoid the need to use deep-sea minerals.

Large sediment plumes –spreading up to hundreds of kilometres across the ocean –damage seafloor ecosystems, midwater ecosystems, and fish stocks.

The United Nations is currently negotiating an important new set of environmentalinternationaltargets– known as the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.

Regrettably, at the time of writing, Aotearoa New Zealand isn’t one of them. We are not officially calling for this ambitious 30% target to be adopted by the UN – even though our government is responsible for looking after four million km2 of ocean and has the ninth-largest exclusive economic zone in the world.

SEDIMENT PLUMES WILL SMOTHER SENSITIVE SPECIES WASTE RELEASED MAY CONTAIN SEDIMENT AND HEAVY METALS sea mining impacts. UNDP

In June, Pacific civil society and conservation groups urged Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her government to support a global moratorium on seabed mining in theButPacific.instead of supporting the moratorium, the government proposed “a robust mining code with high environmental standards” should govern seabed mining –thus legitimising a new frontier of environmental destruction.

The responsible Minister for this foreign policy position is Nanaia Mahuta.Surely the New Zealand government can’t believe that mining companies – operating in international waters, far from domestic coastlines – will be held to account if they happen to break these environmental rules. In fact, how is it possible for any such rules to have “high environmental standards”, given the outright destruction caused by Onemining.thing is certain. Once the mining starts, it will be impossible to rectify the ecological and social damage.Formore about seabed mining’s impacts, read “Race to the bottom: the disastrous, blindfolded rush to mine the deep sea” in The Guardian at https://bit.ly/3Qj6qrX

SUPPORTPRODUCTIONVESSEL

AND LIFT SYSTEM LARGE

Proponents argue seabed mining could provide access to minerals needed to transition to a renewable energy economy.

Deep

Credit:

29Spring 2022 |

The High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People – a group of more than 90 countries – is seeking to protect 30% of the world’s land and ocean by 2030.

It’s a convenient argument that distracts from the ecological destruction that is guaranteed if seabed mining goes ahead.

In 1972, through the UN Stockholm Declaration, the international community first recognised that looking after the environment could help alleviate human poverty. But, half a century later, we are still far from securing a healthy planet for everyone. SEABED MINING MAY HAVE DETRIMENTAL EFFECTS ON FISH RESOURCES VITAL TO COASTAL COMMUNITIES RISER ROBOTS WILL CUT AND COLLECT MATERIALS REMOVING SWATHES OF HABITAT WHALES AND OTHER MARINE LIFE WILL BE IMPACTED BY UNDERSEA NOISE UNDERSEA VENTS, RICH IN MINERALS ARE HOME TO UNIQUE COMMUNITIES. THESE MAY HAVE PROPERTIES INVALUABLE TO MEDICINE.

Teall Crossen is an environmental barrister with two decades of experience advocating for environmental justice domestically and overseas. She has advised Forest & Bird, Greenpeace International, and Pacific Island countries at the United Nations, and worked as the Senior Political Advisor for the Minister of Conservation. Teall is the author of The Climate Dispossessed: Justice for the Pacific in Aotearoa?

Plastic waste littering Henderson Island, Pitcairn archipelago, eastern Pacific Ocean. This uninhabited island is one of the world’s best remaining examples of an elevated coral atoll ecoystem and is sited in a World Heritage Area.

LACK OF LEADERSHIP → | Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao30

It was a landmark moment –described by Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme, as “the most important international multilateral environmental deal since the Paris Climate Accord”.

Marine species, including seabirds, whales, fish, and turtles, are ingesting or being entangled by the plastic waste littering the ocean. Plastics are also climate killers, with emissions released at every stage of plastic production. While banning single-use plastic bags in Aotearoa was an important – albeit small – domestic initiative to address the crisis, collective global action is needed to stop plastic choking the seas and polluting the atmosphere.

The good news is that there is someEarlierhope.this year, countries at the United Nations Environment Assembly adopted a resolution agreeing to develop an internationally legally binding instrument to address plastic’s toxic life cycle.

New Zealand’s official position is that we support a global treaty but “the overall scope, level of ambition, and nature of commitments of a global agreement all remain subject to negotiations”.Thelevelof ambition is of course set by countries. Rather than offer up weasly words with no leadership, New Zealand should be calling for legally binding reductions in plastic production. It will take the same level of diplomatic grit exercised to get the Paris Climate Accord over the line to agree an ambitious international agreement that will actually work to reduce plastics. Given the deep concerns of our Pacific neighbours about the impacts of plastic in the region, we could and should work with them to build an alliance of ambitious countries for plastic prevention. New Zealand’s government ministers have shown global environmental leadership in the past. Our role in the nuclearfree movement is often cited, yet we were also at the forefront of international campaigns to ban drift-netting and to protect whales in the Southern Ocean. But that was decades ago. Fast forward to today, and it’s clear there is no ambitious government strategy for Aotearoa New Zealand’s role in responding to the global biodiversity crisis. This can be seen in our government’s lack of meaningful action on seabed mining, global plastics pollution, and bottom trawling.Weare a small country – the dry part at least. Yet, our exclusive economic zone is vast – 15 times our land area – making us the ninth-largest ocean nation in theAotearoaworld. is, of course, a biodiversity hotspot, with an estimated 80,000 species – many of which are found nowhere else in theSomeworld.of our most threatened species, such as toroa Antipodean albatross, are being killed beyond our shores – making what happens overseas matter. But more than that, we should be championing nature internationally, because we will only solve the global biodiversity crisis if ALL countries call for, and commit to, ambitious action. It’s time for Aotearoa to stop being the laggard and become part of the solution.

At least eight million tonnes of plastic end up in the ocean every year, degrading the health and living standards of vulnerable coastal communities.

True to form, New Zealand was not leading the charge in the run up to this important decision. Our negotiatiors did not champion the transformative action needed to address the plastic pollution crisis.

Bottom fishing is really bad news for the marine environment. It has been assessed as the highest environmental threat to our ocean from marine-based human activity. It’s not hard to see how dragging heavily weighted nets across the seabed floor destroys or damages everything in its wake – including corals that create habitat and sanctuary and nursery areas for manyMoreover,species.the trawling disturbs sediment and releases carbon dioxide, with the evidence growing that this is a major concern to the haveclimate.called on the New Zealand government to protect seamounts and end bottom trawling. heard this call. New Zealand continues to license vessels to bottom fish in the high seas, despite international efforts to stop this destructive fishing practice.

PROUD TO

BIRD

One of the most egregious examples of Aotearoa New Zealand’s lack of ambition in responding to global environmental degradation is bottom trawling because we are the ones directly responsible for the damage.Inthe South Pacific region, the New Zealand fishing fleet undertakes most, if not all, of the bottom fishing activity. We are one of only a dozen countries bottom trawling in international waters – and one of only a handful that allows bottom trawling on ecologically significant seamounts and other underwater features that are particularly vulnerable to trawling.

Orange roughy Oneshot We are proud to announce that the winner of our Honeywrap design-a-wrap competition is Elaine Bozza. Elaine is a talented illustrator living in Auckland and with her stunning design she has won our amazing Honeywrap prize pack worth over $200. Elaine’s design shows many of our beautiful native birds and their Māori names. Each year Honeywrap releases limited-edition beeswax wraps featuring endangered birds to help Forest & Bird raise funds and awareness of our native birds, their habitats and the threats they face. Honeywrap is passionate about reducing the amount of plastic on our planet – our amazing beeswax wraps are a sustainable, natural, reusable alternative to plastic food storage. They are made in New Zealand from certified organic cotton and natural ingredients. Simply WRAP, RINSE & REPEAT. We are proud to use our voice to support Forest & Bird for the fifth year in a row, and to inspire people to care about our environment and our amazing New Zealand birds. SUPPORT &

Announcing our Honeywrap competition winner for designing a beeswax wrap depicting New Zealand Native Birds.

Domestically, a Horizon poll earlier this year showed nearly 80% of New Zealanders agree the government should ban bottom RACE TO THE BOTTOM New Zealand allows bottom trawling for orange roughy in sensitive marine habitats, such as this 1000m deep seamount with its slow-growing corals. Anton Dohrn

FOREST

A national treasure of the forest floor, why do we love our endemic blue mushroom so much? Ann Graeme Blue mushrooms at Lake Kaniere Noah Siegel showy blue wattles of the kōkako, and the crazy colours of the clown seaBiologistslug.

The sky-blue mushroom Entoloma hochstetteri has been voted the favourite fungus in our native forests. It features on the $50 note and has been on a postage stamp. It belongs to the genus of fungi called pinkgills. They bear spores on gills hidden below the pixie cap that are pink when mature, hence its common name the “blue pinkgill”.Myfriend Kate sent me her fine photo of E. hochstetteri. Looking at this exquisite image made me think, why is this fungus blue and why do I find it so beautiful? It is the colourful poster child in a family of drab relations –there are about 60 other Entoloma species in New Zealand and about 1000Nearlyworldwide.allofthem are dull shades of olive, brown, or grey, and they rarely have their photographs taken. Colour can be a signal in the natural world, but what might the blue Entoloma be signalling? Bright colours can signal danger or toxicity, but what is toxic to us may be edible for other animals. The toxicity of the blue Entoloma isn’t known, but it is apparently rather tasteless and it is notItshallucinogenic.colourdoesnot protect it from being nibbled, probably by forest invertebrates such as native snails, beetles, and the larvae of fungusTheygnats.maybe attracted by its scent rather than its appearance because snails, slugs, and beetles do not have colour vision. Colour is often involved in sexual reproduction. The shimmering feathers of the peacock’s tail attract the peahen, and colourful petals of flowers lure pollinating insects. But not being a plant, pollination is not part the blue Entoloma’s life cycle. Its spores, produced on gills, are sexual spores. They germinate in the soil, and it is there, in the meeting of compatible hyphae, that sexual recombination happens. Evolution by natural or sexual selection provides a rational explanation for the diversity of life on ItEarth.explains the apparently bizarre beak of the spoonbill, the

IN THE FIELD

How did the kōkako get its blue wattles? According to the lore of Tūhoe, the bird painted its wattles by nuzzling up against mushroomstheof the blue Entoloma, so they called the fungus te werewere-kōkako. This story is illustrated on our NZ$50 banknote. Kōkako. Terence Davidson

BLUE IS THE COLOUR

| Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao32

reasonevolution.”sensethatDobzhanskyTheodosiusfamouslyobserved“NothinginbiologymakesexceptinthelightofSoisthemushroomblueforawehavenotyetdiscovered,

“The gentle story captures readers hearts with its call to action and moving illustrations,” said Alexandra Moyes, Forest &

children’sthroughconservationForestKatecorporateBird’sfundraiser.“We’redelightedchosetosupport&Bird’sworkherwonderfulbook.”Youcangrabacopy of Kōwhai and the Giants from Forest & Bird’s shop at shop.forestandbird.org.nzhttps:// RRP $30. or can it be just a random mutation that persists below the radar of natural selection?

Christian Gottlieb Ferdinand von Hochstetter was an Austrian geologist who came to New Zealand in 1858 on a Zealandfeaturesinterprettotheexpedition.scientificHewasfirstEuropeandescribeandmanyofNewgeology. His legacy is commemorated by several place names and in the names of many New Zealand organisms, including the takahē, Porphyrio hochstetteri, a giant carnivorous land snail, Powelliphanta hochstetteri, the frog endemic Hochstetter’s Leiopelma hochstetteri, as well as the sky-blue mushroom Entoloma hochstetteri The introduced Amanita muscaria is a weed in native beech forests. It is poisonous, but boiling weakens its toxicity, and it is eaten in some cultures. It is noted for its hallucinogenic properties and may have been the inspiration for the hookah-smoking caterpillar on the mushroom in Lewis Carrol’s Alice’s

HOCHSTETTER’S LEGACY

You may remember Kate told us about her poignant children’s story last year (Spring 2021). In a wise and beautifully told fable, Kōwhai asks for help to replant a giant forest in Aotearoa. Kate generously gifted $3 from the sale of each book to Forest & Bird. Her debut children’s book with stunning 3D illustrations ended up scooping the best picture book award at last year’s NZ Book Awards.Judges described the book as a classic in the making that delivered an important message for future generations in an engaging manner.

About one thing we can be certain. The mushroom is not sky blue for us, although we find it beautiful.Beauty can be defined as that combination of shape, colour, or form that pleases the aesthetic senses.Theblue Entoloma has a pixie cap and is a bright blue colour, all set against a background of green. If we imagine changing one of these parameters, the object will look less attractive. A blue blob is no longer beautiful, nor apparently are the other, dowdy Entoloma species, despite their shapely caps. It is postulated that our response to colour is atavistic, harking back to ancestral instincts. Maybe we unconsciously associate blue with clean water and clear skies, colours that for our ancient ancestors meant survival, safety, and health. It seems that the blue Entoloma meets all our criteria for beauty, in its colour, its form, its surroundings, and maybe also in its unexpectedness in the darkness of theButforest.the question of why the mushroom is blue remains unanswered.Shakespeare, as usual, puts it best when he has Hamlet say: “There are more things on heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”

Adventures in Wonderland

Children’s book writer/ illustrator Kate Parker and Mary Egan Publishing have donated more than $5,000 from the royalties of Kōwhai and the Giants.

Amanita muscaria Noah Siegel Hochstetter’s frog Shaun Lee

33Spring 2022 |

KŌWHAI AND THE GIANTS

The brilliance of the blue Entoloma makes it stand out in the forest. Pigment is expensive for the fungus to manufacture, so it seems that there should be some pay-off.

Vast tracts of New Zealand’s most ecologically important conservation lands are finally having their true value recognised. Or are they? Lynley Hargreaves

“Further south again, across the mighty Karangarua River, at Hunts Beach, Karangarua Forest is probably the best example of unmodified kahikatea in New Zealand.“These forests are for kahikatea what the Waipoua Forest Sanctuary and the mighty Tane Mahuta is for kauri. It would be fitting to give Karangarua Forest scientific reserveGerry,status.”whoworked as Forest & Bird’s Conservation Director 1983–89, played a leading role in advocating for the establishment of the Department of Conservation. A world first, DOC was established in April 1987, with 33% of New Zealand’s land set aside in the public conservation estate. However, government officials ran out of time to properly assess some of the land. Instead of being allocated into national parks or reserves, it went into a legal holding pen called “stewardship land”. Today, there are around 2.5 million hectares of stewardship land, about 9% of the entire country. Kahikatea giant, Ohinetamatea, South Westland. Rob Suisted

“This area is the world’s best example of the how life would have looked on the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana. It is an area that deserves to have the highest possible protection, and that’s not a conservation park.”

STEWARDSHIP LAND REVIEW

BUT AT RISK

National parks, ecological areas, and scientific reserves all have stronger protections in law than conservation parks. Forest & Bird ambassador Gerry McSweeney, who lives and works in South Westland, is also going into bat for these last great kahikatea forests.“The Ohinetamatea Forest is a wonderful example of swamp kahikatea along a serpentine stream and is a prime candidate for national park status,” he said.

“This forest is located immediately south of the Cook River and next to Westland Tai Poutini National Park. It has been seen as a desirable park addition since 1977 by West Coast conservationists and scientists nationally. It would ensure this World Heritage-listed park better represents the full range of unmodified lowland forest ecosystems of South Westland.

| Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao34

Priceless

Ancient kahikatea trees tower over the swamps and outwash plains of South Westland on a narrow strip of land between mountains and the sea. These forest giants were once common across New Zealand’s lowlands. But, over time, 98% were lost as timber for butter boxes and then to farming clearance. Three important stands of kahikatea forest can be found on stewardship land just south of Te Moeka o Tuawe Fox Glacier. In May, a national panel established by the government recommended two of them –Ohinetamatea and Karangarua Forests – should be incorporated into the proposed new 142,000ha Kā Titiritiri o Te Moana Conservation Park. The third, Ohinemaka Forest, was left as unallocated stewardship land. That sounds good, right? A conservation park is better than these two kahikatea forests remaining as “stewardship land”, where they’ve been languishing for the past 35 “Actually,years.thisis only one step up from the protection afforded by its current stewardship status,” says Nicky Snoyink, Forest & Bird’s Canterbury and West Coast regional conservation manager.

Initially, the government refused but then did a U-turn, extending the consultation period by a month to 23 InAugust.July,Forest & Bird organised a webinar for people interested in making a detailed submission. We also provided a way to make a simpler submission via our website. Thank you to the more than 6000 of you who did this!

“This has been a huge job so far, and it’s really been an amazing team effort,” says Jen“GettingMiller. this right is crucial for all New Zealanders because we will need the protection of these forests and wetlands in a warming world.

3 Proposed Kā Tiritiri o te Moana Conservation Park, Karangaruaincludes OhinetamateawhichandForests

Scientific reserves are protected from mining under current legislation, but conservation parks areWenot.are also concerned about the proposed Tarahanga e Toru Historic Reserve that will cover a huge 182,000ha section of the Southern Alps bordering Arthur’s Pass National Park.

A national panel of experts alongside a mana whenua panel took on the huge task of examining 504 land parcels totalling 644,000ha, which is about 80% of stewardship land on the West Coast.

Part of the proposed Tarahanga e Toru Historic Reserve, Upper Hokitika Neil Silverwood

In May, we asked Ministers to extend the consultation period, saying it was too short to allow members of the public to make a submission on this extremely large and complex set of proposals.

“As things presently stand, the historic reserve classification really isn’t able to adequately protect natural values on this scale,” saysForestNicky.& Bird would like to see a stronger purpose set out for several other reserves. This is important because DOC manages them

“It’s reassuring to see from the small amount of land proposed for disposal that they really understood how important public conservation land is,” says Nicky. “But with so much proposed as conservation park, the panel isn’t giving the appropriate classifications relative to Our staff and volunteers have worked intensively over several months to assess the proposed stewardship land reclassifications and prepare a detailed submission to the Duringgovernment.aday-long working bee, our stewardship land team invited West Coast Branch members and conservation values. The decisionmaking has been quite opaque.

2 Proposed Tarahanga e Toru Historic Reserve

Last year, Acting Conservation Minister Ayesha Verrall announced the government wanted to review and reallocate stewardship land based on its natural conservation values. First kid off the block was the West Coast of the South Island.

“It deserves to become a protected scientific reserve, but the panel hasn’t recommended any areas for scientific reserve across the entire West Coast.”

In May, the government announced the national panel had recommended reclassifying 54% as conservation park, 28% as historic reserve, 12% as national park, and less than 2% each as scenic reserve, ecological areas, or wildlife management area. Only 66ha was recommended for sale/disposal.

Jen Miller according to the purpose they are“Itgiven.needs to be clear, for example, that lowland areas near waterways are for conservation of natural values and not to protect marginal farmland from flooding,” added Nicky.

1 Denniston Plateau (proposed Whareatea Conservation Park)

Kawatiri Westport • 1 2 3 • Te Moeka o Tuawe Fox Glacier 35Spring 2022 |

“We know Denniston Plateau, for example, is a biodiversity hotspot with rare ecosystems. But it is only proposed to become part of Whareatea Conservation Park.

“This job is not over – there are still about 1.8 million hectares of stewardship land throughout New Zealand left to reclassify. We hope we can rely on your support to get us to the finish line.”

WHAT FORESTIS& BIRD DOING? ex-staff to help them assess the land parcels in detail. They provided useful local knowledge to Jen Miller, who recently retired as Group manager conservation advocacy and communications. She has been contracted to write Forest & Bird’s detailed submission and will present evidence at stewardship land hearings later in the year.

Artist and lighting designer David Trubridge talks about his new book and love for the natural world.

Renowned furniture and lighting designer and artist David Trubridge has always had a hunger for wild places and a belief that we as human beings need to take a more humble view of our place in the natural world. His explorations of the world, almost always solo, extend from Dusky Sound to Finland, from Patagonia to Alaska, and much in between. Some of these journeys are chronicled in his new book, The Other Way, in both words and his own striking photos. The book also reflects on the emotional and spiritual sustenance he gains from these explorations and the way we as people interact with the natural world.

| Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao36

David Brooks

Hornpipe’s final destination was New Zealand. Since settling here, he has built a global reputation for furniture design and lighting.

The Trubridges are Forest & Bird supporters, and David is particularly pleased about our successful battle to stop the Ruataniwha dam. David’s passion for nature and wild places and his work are closely intertwined. He says the patterns and textures he’s drawn and photographed from nature have been a foundation for his designs. Solo travel untethers him from the day-to-day world. “That’s when these ideas start to generate in your mind, and that’s where the writing in this book comes from,” he explains.

The Other Way (RRP $99) by David Trubridge is available from davidtrubridge.com/ nz and selected retailers.

ANOTHER WAY

PROFILE

“To me, nature is life, and we are one small part of that in the history of this planet, let alone the universe. We’re nothing compared to all of that,” David says. “I think we have this incredible hubris that we think we’re some special exception and that arrogance is causing the destruction of nature, and that’s going to pull us down in the end. As Māori say: ‘Ko au te whenua, te whenua ko au, I am the land and the land is me.’” David was drawn to nature from an early age. At school in the Scottish Highlands, rather than join his mates in the playground, he would sometimes climb alone up a nearby hill and lie in the heather overlooking the valley below. As an adult, he learned furnituremaking while working as a forester. He and wife Linda bought a yacht, Hornpipe, and spent several years in the 1980s exploring the Pacific Ocean with their young children Sam and William. The sea is as close to David’s heart as the land, and he has always loved sailing, windsurfing, and paddleboarding.“Ilovethefeeling when I’m floating in the water, there’s waves coming through, that motion of wind on water. It’s timeless and infinite, and I love that.”

Environmental responsibility is a core principle of his business, using sustainably grown bamboo and timber in his products, and he is always Iooking for ways to improve.

His Hawke’s Bay-based business supports the Maraetōtara Tree Trust, a volunteer group fencing and revegetating the Maraetōtara River, and the Sustainable Coastlines Trust.

I’ve also been working with the family of Glen Beauchamp, who left a large gift to Forest & Bird in his will earlier this year. Glen spent many happy years holidaying on Waiheke Island. His bequest enables further conservation work in and around his beloved Hauraki Gulf. In accordance with his wishes, some of his gift was given to our Hauraki Islands Branch. Their volunteers are using it to complete repairs on Forest & Bird’s Waiheke Island cottage.

“Glen’s gift helped us complete the renovation project. We are working with his family to create a memorial plaque, which we’ll place on the cottage wall,” said outgoing Chair Shirin Brown. We ask members and supporters to let us know if they intend to leave a gift to the Society in their will, so we can keep in touch about our work and the impact of their gift. However, we do sometimes receive bequests out of the blue, including $110,000 from Mollie Gower earlier this year. Sadly, we did not get the chance to thank Mollie or explain how her gift will be used as a lasting legacy to protect nature.

“One of her final wishes was for us to ensure Forest & Bird received these donations so you can continue protecting the flora and fauna that were close to her heart,” explained daughter Hannah Sayer.

Hilary Bisschops

Jo Prestwood

“Mum was always a big wildlife advocate,” added Gabrielle Bisschops, Hannah’s sister.

So far this year, 18 incredible people have gifted more than $1m to Forest & Bird in their wills.

People leave a gift in their will to Forest & Bird because they want to have a lasting impact on nature and they trust us to deploy their hard-earned dollars responsibly.Sometimes, people organise a “living will” so they can see firsthand the impact their gift makes during their lifetime. Last year, one of our long-standing Wellington supporters did just that. She gave more than $400,000 to our high-performing legal team because she wanted to see the results of this bequest in her lifetime. Her hugely generous gift helped Forest & Bird win several important cases last year. I enjoy talking to family members whose relatives have left a bequest, especially finding out all about their lives and their love of nature.InJune, for example, three siblings from the same whānau made donations of $16,000 each in memory of their mum Hilary Bisschops, a life member of the Society. Puawananga, white clematis. Jake Osborne

“We were more than happy to fulfil these in honour of mum’s dedication to nature.”

“She really cared about New Zealand’s native species and passed on to me a deep love of our birds and lizards.”

37Spring 2022 |

LASTING LEGACIES

Jo Prestwood is Forest & Bird’s major gifts and bequests manager. If you would like to talk to her in confidence, call 04 801 2212.

COMMUNITY

Non-renewable energy sources, such as coal-fired power stations, currently fill the “dry year” gap when renewable electricity isn’t available.

Some e-NGOs, including the Environmental Defence Society, have suggested the environmental impacts may need to be accepted as a trade-off for the greater climate good (see ‘Destroying the environment to save it’, Stuff, June 2022).

The government is considering raising Lake Onslow, in Central Otago, to create New Zealand’s largest artificial lake and boost water storage for hydro-electric power generation. This is the epitome of “big hydro”: flooding an area of 120km2 and creating a 1.5km long lake.

Is the proposed NZ Battery Project the country’s climate saviour or a potential $4bn white elephant? Chelsea McGaw, Tom Kay, and Caroline Wood Lake Onslow with Fortification Creek and the nationally significant Teviot River scroll plain wetlands bottom left. Rob Suisted

The impact of the loss of nationally important wetlands – 20% of the known habitat of one critically endangered fish species – has not been properly assessed.

LAKE ONSLOW

CLIMATE CONUNDRUM CLIMATE | Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao38

The downstream impacts and cost of changing the natural volume of the Clutha, New Zealand’s largest river by volume, could be significant.

n It could become an expensive $4bn white elephant when there are more cost-effective ways to decarbonise.

Dubbed the “NZ Battery Project”, the aim is to provide a back-up power supply during our many “dry years”, when existing hydro schemes don’t receive enough rainfall or snowmelt to meet electricity demands.

Forest & Bird supports efforts to reduce New Zealand’s reliance on fossil fuels and cut greenhouse gas emissions, but we have several concerns about the Lake Onslow project. These include:

However, energy experts are beginning to question some of the science behind this huge infrastructure project – the first time pumped hydro has been attempted in New Zealand.

Some scientists and environmental groups, including Forest & Bird, are suggesting there may be better ways to deal with the dry year problem while also decarbonising the economy.

The government also hopes the $4bn project will help achieve its target of 100% renewable electricity generation by 2030 and support decarbonising the wider energy system by removing fossil fuels.

If the project goes ahead, the nationally important Teviot River scroll plain wetlands would be destroyed and there would be other environmental impacts on the Clutha River, the likely water source for the new lake.

Last year, Forest & Bird sent a briefing called Raising Lake Onslow – Risks to Climate Goals and Nature to Megan Woods, the Minister of Energy and Resources. We pointed out the $4bn scheme, with an estimated cost of $250 per tonne of CO2 avoided, would be an expensive way to reduce New Zealand’s climate emissions.Itwould take many years to plan, build, and operationalise this infrastructure project. Therefore, it is highly unlikely Lake Onslow will help the government meet its 100% renewables target by 2030. The NZ Battery Project will have a huge impact on New Zealand’s electricity market and pricing, and act as a deterrent to other forms of renewable generation.

Five species of lizards have been recorded in the area, including four that are “At Risk – Declining”: the schist gecko, korero gecko, Otago green skink, and Southern grass skink.

Raising Lake Onslow would destroy nationally significant wetlands and the habitat of a number of protected threatened birds, plants, and fish species.

→ Teviot flathead galaxiid Rod

This non-migratory species is found in a few areas in Otago and nowhere else in the world. It shares the same threat status as the kākāpō, making it one of New Zealand’s most endangered animals. Other at-risk fish species impacted include the Clutha flathead galaxias, dusky galaxias, kanakana lamprey, and tuna longfinnedRaisingeel. the level of Lake Onslow would introduce trout predators and completely destroy the natural food web, which is most abundant around the fringes of theThislake.will also impact birdlife such as tarapirohe black-fronted tern, pohowera banded dotterels, tōrea New Zealand pied oystercatchers, pīhoihoi New Zealand pipits, Māpunga black shags, and kārearea eastern New Zealand falcon.

TūturiwhatuMorrisbanded

South Island dotterel Greg

Lake Onslow was created by damming the Teviot River in 1890, drowning what was then called the DismalHowever,Swamp.significant scroll plain wetlands, including meandering streams and numerous oxbow lakes and small ponds, remain in the Teviot River catchment. Raising Lake Onslow would inundate these and completely destroy them forever. The area provides habitat for 20% of the total population of nationally critical Teviot flathead galaxias. They live in two unnamed trout-free tributaries flowing into Lake Onslow.

COST VS CLIMATE BENEFIT

Smith 39Spring 2022 |

“I have measured evaporation at different elevations on the nearby Old Man Range and at the mid-elevations – as per Onslow – it is quite considerable,” said Sir Alan. Forest & Bird believes there are more cost-effective and nature-friendly ways to decarbonise the economy, including geothermal, wind, solar, and biofuels. We’d like the government to look at other options, such as retro-fitting systems to burn forestry waste in existing coal-fired power stations, as suggested by Ralph Sims, Emeritus Professor of Sustainable Energy and Climate Mitigation at Massey University. In our briefing, we asked Ministers to prioritise the consideration of alternatives, including demand management and smaller scale storage solutions closer to cities and towns to help mitigate peak energy use on cold winter days.

WETLAND LOSS

Emeritus Professor Sir Alan Mark, a renowned botanist who has carried out research in the area, has raised the issue of the project’s financial viability. Evaporation would lower the level of the lake, meaning it would need to be topped up more frequently with water from the Clutha River, reducing its profitgenerating potential.

The current Onslow Dam and reservoir. Mohammed Majeen/Waikato University

Instead of one water source, there are two – an upper and lower reservoir – connected by a tunnel. Excess electricity at times of low demand is used to pump water from the lower to the upper reservoir, making water available to generate more electricity when demand increases.

CONTINUE

Several rare moth species have been found in the boggy wetlands of Teviot and Fortification Creek, including the ghost moth Sphagnum porina.

The proposal is for the scheme to pump water from the Clutha River to fill Lake Onslow. This could impact on flood flows in the river below the intake point, adversely effecting hydrology and ecology of what is New Zealand’s largest river by volume.Theimpact on the people and species that rely on the Clutha River is not yet known but will be considered in the upcoming feasibility study.

To date, the $4bn “cost” of the scheme doesn’t include a dollar value for the destruction of natural capital to make way for the new hydro lake – or the costs that might flow from downstream changes in the Clutha Valley.

The Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment is leading a Phase 1 feasibility study into the NZ Battery Project, focusing on Lake Onslow as its preferred location.

Given the substantial time it would take to plan and construct Lake Onslow, there is a huge risk the technology will be outdated by the time it is operational, leaving New Zealand with a $4bn white elephant.

DOWNSTREAM IMPACTS

Threatened plant species in the area include the nationally critical kettlehole cudweed (Pseudognalhalium ephemerum) and the nationally vulnerable Ranunculus ternatifolious, as well as possibly the largest population in Otago of pygmy clubrush (Isolepis basilaris) and a healthy large population of Montia angustifolia.

Pumped hydro, the kind of scheme being considered for Lake Onslow, has never been tried in Aotearoa.

Fortification Creek contains red tussock grasslands, one of the last relatively uniform areas remaining in Central Otago.

In 2017, the extension of a similar pumped hydro scheme in Australia – on the Snowy River – was hailed as a “nation building project”. But the initial cost estimate of $2bn has blown out to $5bn, and the project is currently five years behind schedule.

FEASIBILITY STUDIES

The NZ Battery Project has also been carrying out initial investigations into alternative non-hydro options. Cabinet has confirmed the focus for the remainder of the year will be narrowed down to three –flexible geothermal, hydrogen, and biofuels.

The final phase would, if approved, be the construction of the selected option or options.

Used carefully, pumped hydro can provide electricity back-up in dry years because rain isn’t as important. However, it uses more electricity than it generates.

→ New Zealand pipit. Craig McKenzie

The ongoing significant variation in lake level of 76m on a daily, seasonal, or annual basis (depending on how the pumped hydro is used) could have a significant effect on recreational use, including cycling, hunting, angling, swimming, and boating.

In July, Cabinet confirmed a pumped hydro scheme at Lake Onslow appeared “technically feasible”, although more work is needed. Investigations will continue for the rest of the year and will incorporate environmental, cultural, social, and geotechnical findings, as well as a more accurate cost estimate.

| Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao40

A 2010 report, prepared by the Department of Conservation, describes the Fortification Creek wetlands, along with nearby Teviot Swamp, Red Swamp, and MacKays Creek Headwaters as being “nationally significant” because of their size, intactness, range of hydrology, and diversity of plant communities.

The results of the Phase 1 feasibility project, due to go to Cabinet in December, will inform a decision on whether to proceed to the next stage. This next phase would involve detailed engineering design and preliminary works for a chosen solution to provide firmer knowledge of costs and capabilities.

University of Otago energy researcher Jen Purdie told RNZ in July that the government’s 100% renewable target was an expensive and inefficient way to cut climate emissions.

TEVIOTApproxRIVER location of new dam Roxburgh 41Spring 2022 |

BRANCH BRIEFS

Future684m

NEW FUNDRAISER Candice Tian has joined Forest & Bird as a full-time grants fundraiser. She is a keen conservationist who loves looking after nature on her two-acre property at Waiuku, Auckland. Candice has extensive experience in managing grants, most recently with Auckland City Mission. You can get in touch with Candice at c.tian@forestandbird.org.nz

SUMMER WARDENS NEEDED FOR CATLINS RESERVE Tourists love staying at Forest & Bird’s Lenz Reserve and Tautuku Forest Cabins in the Catlins. The Society is looking for voluntary wardens, who stay for free on a monthly basis at the cabins, to welcome visitors and maintain the grounds and facilities. Anyone interested in being a voluntary warden can contact reserve manager Fergus Sutherland at tautukucabins@gmail.com. Tautuku is a wildlife paradise with lots do to and see, including lovely walks, beaches, and forest. The forest cabins can be booked by anyone – see tautuku-forest-cabinsforestandbird.org.nz/our-community/lodges/https://www.

“The only reason to have 100% renewable is so that the government can go to meetings overseas and have this nice little catchphrase,” she said.

RETHINKING 100% RENEWABLE Forest & Bird would like to see the government reassess its 100% renewable by 2030 electricity target before green-lighting the Lake Onslow project. It’s possible the country could do more to lower greenhouse gas emissions by introducing a slightly less ambitious target – say 98% – and meeting it by using demand-side management. About 85% of New Zealand’s electricity generation is currently renewable. Most experts agree the country can get to at least 95% by the end of the decade – and that’s without the government getting involved!

VALDER AWARDS

Applications close on 30 September 2022.

Energy only accounts for 22% of New Zealand’s total emissions profile. The agriculture sector accounts for 48% and the transport sector 20%.

Instead of spending $4bn on Lake Onslow, Forest & Bird believes the money could be better spent reducing agricultural and transport emissions. This could cut the country’s overall emissions faster than embarking on a hugely risky and expensive “eggs in one basket” climate gamble. It would take up to seven years to construct and commission the $4bn pumped hydro scheme, according to MBIE. The current Lake Onslow (dark blue) could be raised by 76m to create the largest hydro lake in New Zealand (light blue outline). This reservoir would provide 5–7 TWh (terrawatt hours) of storage to provide back-up electricity in dry years.

Existing lake level lake outline if raised by 76m Teviot

Grants of $1,000–$10,000 are awarded every year for conservation projects across New Zealand. Lilian Valder was a significant donor to Forest & Bird’s Waikato Branch. In the 1930s, she and her sister converted a farm on the slopes of Mt Pirongia to native bush and in 1963 gifted half of it to Forest & Bird to manage as a reserve. Previous Valder awards have supported hihi research at Maungatautari and pekapeka long-tailed bat monitoring on the Waikato River. For more information and an application form, email waikato.branch@forestandbird.org.nz

“What we really should be looking for is maximum decarbonisation, which to me is keeping two or three percent of gas in the electricity system for at least another 10 or 15 years while we get some of these other solutions in play.”

THE LIGHT BLINDED BY

Birds who have been successfully rehabilitated are released on Auckland’s west coast beaches by volunteers. BirdCare Aotearoa

During the autumn months, Cook’s petrels are found grounded from as far north as Mangawhai all the way south to Pukekohe. Many of the birds who survive the impact sustain injuries, become dehydrated, and are

Ariel-Micaiah Heswall and Bianka Atlas

SEABIRDS

It’s an incredible privilege to have this internationally important seabird hotspot located right next to Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. But breeding and foraging so close to the country’s largest city and its industrial port brings risks for these seabirds, including being disorientated by light pollution and getting caught up in fishing nets andLightlines.attraction is a growing threat to nocturnal seabirds around the world. As urbanisation grows towards coastal areas, the likelihood of seabirds becoming attracted to lights increases.Oneof the species most affected by light pollution in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland is the Cook’s petrel, with their fledglings particularly at risk because they are more naïve about their environment.

Cook’s petrels, also known as tītī, breed on Te Hauturu-o-Toi Little Barrier Island, Aotea Great Barrier Island, and Whenua Hou Codfish Island, off Rakiura Stewart Island.

During March to May, they leave their breeding grounds and migrate to their oceanic foraging grounds in the Tasman Sea. But for the birds who breed in the Hauraki Gulf, there is a considerable obstacle in their path – Auckland city. At night, the bright lights of Tāmaki Makaurau generate light pollution. As the young seabirds take their maiden flight, they often become disorientated, resulting in potentially fatal collisions with buildings, bridges, and ships.

| Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao42

This Cook’s petrel was downed by light pollution and needed human help to recover. BirdCare Aotearoa

The islands and peninsulas of Tīkapa Moana the Hauraki Gulf are home to more than 26 seabird species, including petrels, shearwaters, penguins, shags, and gannets.

Light pollution is an increasing issue for our nocturnal seabirds, with some needing human help after becoming disorientated and crash-landing to Earth.

WHAT

n The SPCA can help with transporting tītī to BirdCare Aotearoa.

SEABIRDGROUNDED

But there is hope for these young birds. With growing awareness about light pollution, many Aucklanders are finding grounded birds and taking them to their local veterinary clinic or BirdCare Aotearoa in Green Bay.

n Do not try to force feed them water or food.

Ariel-Micaiah Heswall is a PhD student in seabird sensory ecology at the University of Auckland. She has been studying Cook’s petrels and other seabirds that come to BirdCare Aotearoa. Bianka Atlas was the first New Zealander to graduate with a Master of Laws in Animal Law. She is BirdCare Aotearoa’s fundraising and development coordinator.

vulnerable to predation or starvation.

Tītī in triage: BirdCare Aotearoa Clinical Director Dani Najera with two young Cook’s petrels BirdCare Aotearoa TO DO WITH A

BirdCare Aotearoa is a Department of Conservation permitted avian rehabilitation facility, which admits more than 6000 sick, injured, and orphaned wild birds every year. Operating seven days a week, birds are brought to the centre by members of the public, DOC, Auckland Council, and veterinary clinics, among others.

This year, BirdCare Aotearoa admitted 153 grounded Cook’s petrels and a few tāiko black petrels, with the birds spending anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks in care. They receive a full veterinary check-up, and fluids and medication if needed. Their feather condition is assessed, and they are given a waterproofing bath if required. They are assist-fed a specialised diet until they are a suitable weight for release.Sadly, some birds are too seriously injured or arrive in such poor condition that they cannot be saved. Those that are successfully rehabilitated are released along Auckland’s west coast beaches by a dedicated grounds.Tasmanthepetrelstheseoftheconservationasdisorientatinglightreducesonteam. Releasingvolunteerthemthewestcoastthechanceofattractionagainthebirdstheyflywestward.ThankstotheeffortsofstaffandvolunteersBirdCareAotearoa,youngCook’scanfinallybeginlongjourneytotheirSeaforaging

n If you are in Auckland, bring them to BirdCare Aotearoa at 74 Avonleigh Road, Green Bay.

43Spring 2022 |

n If outside Auckland, call DOC (0800 DOC HOT) or BirdCare Aotearoa (027 816 9219) for advice. Thanks to BirdCare Aotearoa for sharing these tips. To learn more about its conservation and rehabilitation work, go to https://birdcareaotearoa.org.nz.

petrelCooks.JJHarris/Wikimedia

n Place them in a ventilated box padded with towels or other fabric.

n Seek help as soon as possible. Holding them for days significantly reduces their chances of survival.

Pick them up using gloves or a towel to avoid damaging their feather waterproofing with the oils from your skin.

WHAT LURKS BENEATH

American brown bullhead catfish are revered at home but in Aotearoa they eat baby native fish and destroy delicate freshwater ecosystems. Brent Condon

BIOSECURITY | Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao44

The American brown bullhead catfish (Ameiurus nebulosus) is our very own piscatorial pest. Introduced to New Zealand from California in 1877 to provide recreational fishing, they first became established in the lower Waikato River. On home waters, in midwestern USA, these catfish are a symbol of the First Nation Ojibwe people. In Ojibwe tradition, the bullhead or “wawaazisii” is one of six wild beings that came out of the sea to form the original clans. It is a prominent tribal totem – a spirit being and sacred object. Bullheads are a very adaptable species and in recent years have migrated to waterways that include Lake Taupō, Lake Rotoiti, and many northern urban waterscapes, including Auckland’s Western Springs lakes and Puhinui Stream. Not regarded as a sport fish, bullheads are still edible and considered delicious. Spear fisherman at the annual catfish cull at Lake Taupō will testify to this, as they slap beer-battered catfish whole on to the BBQ after the event.Bullheads have tiny eyes, a mouth like an empty council bin, and whisker-like barbels (feelers) that would be best suited to an alien horror movie. Heads only a mother would love! Behind their blunt heads, they have sharp spines in front of the pectoral and pelvic fin and jellylike yellow bellies. Catfish love slow-flowing streams and the shallow margins of lakes. They spawn between September and December within shallow depressions in bottom mud or sand. In New Zealand, catfish mature at two years old and can spawn for the next four to five years. Most locals are unaware of the damage done to our inland waterways by pest fish. Bullheads threaten our aquatic environments by stirring up sediment and devouring native species such as migrating kōkopu, īnanga, and juvenile tuna Nevertheless,eels.the humble brown bullhead catfish is an amazing species. Like our native eels, they have evolved to their current shape and form over millions of years of evolution to become an apex predator.Itisonly through the meddling of people that they have ended up living in our local waterways far from the native lands where they are revered by the Ojibwe peoples of the Midwest.

Introduced catfish are a pest species. The American brown bullhead is revered at home by the First Nation Ojibwe people. Illustration: Ojibwa village at Sault Ste. Marie in 1846, painted by Paul Kane. Brent catches a pest American brown bullead catfish in Puhinui Stream. Richard Barclay

Much as I love ugly ika, including the brown bullhead from the USA and the great northern pike from the UK, introduced catfish do cause trouble in our streams, including one in South Auckland that I’ve been helping look after for five years.

RESTORING PUHINUI STREAM

Brent Condon Brent teaches kaitiakitanga to tamariki at Wiri Central School, Manukau.

Like seagulls scoffing soggy chips, their prey species get sucked into their gigantic bucket mouths and devoured.Inthespirit of pest eradication and a goal of a Predator-free Aotearoa by 2050, a few dedicated (slightly mad) conservationists, including myself, have decided to wage war on the Puhinui catfish. The most effective way to target the bullheads has been using traditional hinake (eel pots) to locate clusters of catfish within the stream and catch them on flounder spears. Using a simple bait such as pilchard pieces entices catfish to the surface even in broad daylight. Then it’s a simple task of taking aim and harpooning the pests.

Other possibly effective methods yet to be explored are backpack electro-fishing, longer-term fyke nets, and spearfishing at night with spotlights.Bylaw,all catfish must be killed on capture and not returned to the water alive. But dispatching catfish can and should be done as quickly and humanely as possible.

His Eel Roadshow has become so popular, he is now known as the “West Auckland eel whisperer”.

Brent Condon’s love affair with all things fish started when he became a fly fishing guide in Ireland. After 30 years perfecting the art of catching and thinking like a fish, he now spends more time defending them. Brent is passionate about oftheAucklandsouthinteachesrestorationstreamandtamarikischoolsacrossandwestaboutpreciousnesseelsastaonga.

JUN World-Class Birding LocalExperiences,Expertise We specialise in unique private itineraries & small group adventures 5 Star Reviews • Luxury vehicles• 35 years professional experience • Target species missions • Private cruises & access • Fully accredited & permitted operators Gouldian Finch Join renowned specialist guide Luke Paterson on award-winning birding & photographic tours in northernDarwinAustralia. tours@NTBirdSpecialists.com.au / 0421 651 122 Full calendar & tailored itineraries at www.NTBirdSpecialists.com.au SEPT Kakadu Bird Week 5 Days OCT/ Top End Birdwatching / Photography Tours Varied NOV & Private Charters MAY Kimberley Landscape Photography Tours 5 Days JUN Wild Kakadu Bird & Wildlife Photo tours 5 Days JUN Arnhem Land Photographic Safari 5 Days JUL Finch Frenzy Bird Photography Tour 7 Days JUL Ultimate Top End Birding Adventure 10 Days AUG Top End Finch Frenzy Birding Tour 7 Days AUG North Australian Outback Birding 8 Days (Darwin to Mount Isa) OCT/ Top End Birdwatching / Photography Tours Varied NOV & Private Charters Spaces limited. Please book early & join wait lists. NT Bird Specialists Birding & Photographic Safaris 2022 TOURS 2023 TOURS

Bullheads were first found in the Puhinui catchment, east of Manukau, in the summer of 2009. A Transit New Zealand team discovered them while retrieving aquatic life from part of the stream that was being drained and filled for the development of State Highway 20. More than a decade later, although government biosecurity teams have been made aware of bullheads, they are still present in the Puhinui Awa. They thrive on a platter of native fish species and fellow aquatic pests, such as the mosquito fish or gambusia (Gambusia affinis).

STANDING UP FOR THE PLANET

Check out the full range of Stand Desk products at https://standdesk.nz. Forest & Bird loves working with sustainable business partners.

For more information, contact Alexandra Moyes at a.moyes@forestandbird.org.nz

OUR PARTNERS

The fledgling company’s online sales took off after Covid-19 struck in March 2020, when tens of thousands of Kiwis were suddenly forced to work from home. While the pandemic proved to be a boon, Conrad says the product’s success has largely been due to it being different from other standing desks, well designed at a good price, and a compelling brand story.Stand Desk includes a bestin-class frame that is built to last and has super quiet operation, cable management, and an inbuilt wireless charger. The desktops are made from FSC-certified bamboo, the world’s fastest growing woody plant. Unlike other standing desks available in the market, the tops are formaldehyde free. The metal frames are powder-coated in solvent-free paints. The desks are made in China and packed

Conrad Cranfield

Conrad Cranfield cares deeply about the environment, so making his new business venture sustainable as well as stylish and affordable was a top priority. In August 2019, he launched Stand Desk, an online company that sells bamboo-topheight-adjustabledesksthatallow you to sit or stand while working at them. Stand Desk is a member of the worldwide organisation 1% for the Planet, where businesses pledge to donate 1% of revenue to environmental causes. Through the scheme, Conrad supports six charities, including Forest & Bird, donating about $25,000 last year to good causes. “Both my parents loved nature,” says Conrad, who is based in Mount Maunganui. “As a kid, every single holiday we went away tramping or camping. I love the outdoors myself, and I’m definitely passionate about seeing positive change in that space.”

But Conrad has found a cornstarch manufacturerpackagingtoreplace the polystyrene foam and plastic bags.

Conrad Cranfield’s company took off during the Covid pandemic, allowing him to support Forest & Bird’s work with a share of its profits. Gretchen Carroll in companyforcardboarddelivery.Theusesan electric forklift to move stock around.

Conrad says his customers value the company’s commitment to the environment, and this is often the tipping point that leads them to choose a Stand Desk over other products.Untilrecently, the company protected the desks against rough courier delivery with EPS (expanded polystyrene) foam, which is not recyclable here.

“Stand Desk is a company with clear sustainability goals, and we are delighted it has chosen to support Forest & Bird,” says Alexandra Moyes, Forest & Bird’s corporate fundraiser.

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“The established Rotokare Halo trapping programme, which intensively traps some 4500ha around the outside of the sanctuary, makes this landscape safer for the pāteke to return to Taranaki.“Intensive trapping is required at all release sites to ensure birds have sufficient protection to survive and thrive.”

GOODQUACKINGTALE

In pre-human times, pāteke brown teal are thought to have been the most widespread and numerous of New Zealand’s waterfowl. Today, they are one of our rarest, largely due to habitat destruction and predation. By 2000, they were tottering on the edge of extinction, with just 700 birds left in the wild, spread over two populations in Te Tai Tokerau Northland and on Aotea Great BarrierRecoveryIsland.efforts over the past two decades, led by the Department of Conservation and the Pāteke Recovery Group, have re-established some self-sustaining populations.Threeyears ago, Rotokare Scenic Reserve began the process of re-establishing a population of this endemic waterfowl in Taranaki.

Rotokare Scenic Reserve is a community-led charitable trust in the heart of Taranaki. For more information, go to https://www.rotokare.org.nz

The translocation is the latest success story for the landscapescale restoration efforts taking place in CommunityTaranaki.groups are working together to achieve greater conservation outcomes, including Forest & Bird’s North Taranaki Branch, which sponsors trapping in the Rotokare halo. All released birds are given a metal band and coloured leg band for identification, and 20 are also fitted with backpack radio transmitters to allow for monitoring of dispersal and survival after release.

The birds had been regionally extinct for about 100 years. Staff and volunteers worked in partnership with the Pāteke Recovery Group, the Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust, and captive breeders across 14 different sites.

Gordon, conservation manager of the Rotokare Scenic Reserve Trust.

COMMUNITY

“While a number of pāteke are now resident within the pest-free Rotokare sanctuary and breeding successfully, many are choosing to live beyond the safety of our predator-proof fence,” says Fiona

Nearly 100 years after becoming locally extinct, pāteke are being returned to Taranaki.

47Spring 2022 |

Pāteke numbers are recovering today, thanks to conservation efforts. Tara Swan Brown teal being released at Rotokare Scenic Reserve earlier this year.

In May this year, 74 beautiful brown teal were released into the Rotokare Scenic Reserve. They joined another 174 pāteke that were previously translocated.

“The pāteke were freed from their containers, with most waddling down to placid Lake Rotokare,” said Elvisa van der Leden, Forest & Bird’s regional manager for Taranaki, who attended the release.

“We are thankful for the cooperation of surrounding landowners who allow trapping on their properties and for the volunteers who undertake this vital work,” added Fiona.

Elvisa van der Laden

“However, a few impatient ducks flew off as fast as they could towards the water. Rotokare is the perfect place for them. It’s rich with natural resources and human kindness. A place they can call home.”These birds will continue to disperse into the surrounding landscape as the population grows, and the staff and volunteers at Rotokare are proud to be returning rare wildlife into their community.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST EXCITING WETLAND MOMENT?

MP: Visiting Kopuatai Peat Dome in the middle of Hauraki Plains and the surreal experience of standing on a ladder among the mighty tufts of Sporadanthus ferrugineus (giant cane rush) and feeling as if the wetland covered the whole landscape. It was ferociously hot (40°C!), which really surprised me, and the plants were, quite simply, otherworldly.

KD: New Zealand is great at idolising our talented athletes, but many of our academic heroes — who also put Aotearoa on the map — get very little attention at home. We thought, let’s write a book not just about wetlands but about wetland scientists. We write about some of their hairy field moments, their lateral thinking, and the social obstacles they overcame.

WHYFRESHWATERWETLANDS?

Pureora

THIS BOOK PROFILES THE PERSONAL STORIES OF 17 LEADING DECIDESCIENTISTS.WETLANDWHYDIDYOUONTHISAPPROACH?

Monica Peters: They’re intriguing places — it’s not just the glimpses of open water, but the damp swathes that are home to plants that couldn’t survive without “wet feet” either seasonally or yearround. As a plant geek, that’s my first focus, but I’ve also begun to appreciate our unique fauna that need wetlands for their survival — the birds, fish, and insects.

KD: That’s a toughie; they are all so different. Geothermal wetlands are incredible, and I love the tiny detail Wetland

WONDERS

A Q&A with wetland experts Karen Denyer and Monica Peters, who recently published Life in the Shallows, a new book celebrating the “ecological underdogs” of the natural world.

Karen Denyer: I’ve always had a soft spot for the underdog, and for me wetlands are our ecological underdogs, our most abused and misunderstood ecosystem. Western culture still “body shames” wetlands, using wetland terms like swamp and bog in a negative way and allows commercial catch of threatened fish species. Imagine the uproar if kiwi were able to be legally caught, killed, and turned into fritters or dog food! We’ve saved a third of our native forests and legally protected 80% of them but destroyed 90% of our wetlands and only protected half of the tiny amount left. So, to me, they are an ecosystem that just needs a bit more love and attention.

YOU PROFILE SPECIAL ROHE KŌREPOREPO IN YOUR BOOK. DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE WETLAND?

wetland.forestNIWA | Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao48

MP: Tahuna Torea in Auckland. It’s a spit of sand that arcs into the Tāmaki Estuary, with wetland areas restored over the decades. It’s just down the road from where I grew up. I went there a lot, loving the solitude and how the tides grew and diminished the shoreline, and filled and emptied the shallow pools within the wetland.

of minute orchids, sundews, and mosses in peat bogs, but one place that I come back to is Kaitoke on Aotea Great Barrier Island. Because it’s right beside the airport, you fly low over it, and I usually have my nose pressed against the window picking out the various plant species.

WIN A BOOK Life in the Shallows is a timely engaging guide to New Zealand’s wetland habitats and the people who study them. Home to unique flora and fauna, wetlands sequester more carbon than our forests and can help mitigate some of the worst effects of extreme weather events. But they remain underappreciated. This richly illustrated book brings our wetlands out of the shallows and into the limelight. The authors include a detailed guide to 17 wetlands, including how to get there and their ecological Wehighlights.havetwo copies to give away. To be in to win, email your entry to draw@forestandbird.org.nz, put SHALLOWS in the subject line, and include your name and address in the email. Or write your name and address on the back of an envelope and post to SHALLOWS draw, Forest & Bird, PO BOX 631, Wellington 6140. Entries close 1 November 2022.

MP: Mātauranga Māori brings a dimension that has been missing for a long time, with predominantly Pākehā scientists and land managers leading wetland initiatives. Restoring our degraded landscapes isn’t just about an ecological fix, it’s situating restoration actions into a wider context.socio-cultural Life in Shallowstheby Karen Denyer and RRPUniversitybypublishedPetersMonicaisMasseyPress,$65.Allroyalties will go to the National Wetland Trust to further its advocacy work.

KD: Western scientists have had barely 200 years to learn about New Zealand wetlands, and most of them have been limited to researching a fraction of the wetlands that once existed, many now degraded and with half their species gone. It is like doing a jigsaw with no box cover and only 10% of the pieces. Māori have

Dr Don Jellyman with longfin eel, Selwyn River, Canterbury. NIWA 49Spring 2022 |

PARTS OF THE BOOK TALK ABOUT MĀTAURANGA MĀORI. WHAT DOES THIS TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE BRING TO THE STUDY AND RESTORATION OF WETLANDS?

Karen Denyer has worked as an ecological consultant for more than 20 years, much of it in wetland ecology. She has been executive officer at the National Wetland Trust since 2008.

Monica Peters is co-chair of the Citizen Science Association of Aotearoa New Zealand. She is a member of Forest & Bird and served two terms on its governing Board before stepping down in June. lived in and beside wetlands for more than 800 years and had the full picture. They have so much intimate knowledge and experience of wetlands: how they work, how they changed seasonally, and how they once were. They observed and interacted with species that are now extinct. It has become clear to most scientists — Māori and non-Māori — that, to fully understand a natural area, it makes sense to first talk to local iwi and find out what they know from oral history and their own observations. Blending traditional knowledge with Western science dramatically increases our understanding. For instance, learning where and when fish species that are now rare were once harvested can help us locate and protect spawning sites or migration pathways.

Dr Emma Williams with a bittern and conservation dog Kimi. Colin O’Donnell

Fiordland is the last bastion of some of our iconic native wildlife and a mecca for conservationists. Last year, I explored the southern fiords on a voyage with Heritage Expeditions, visiting sites of significance in the history of New Zealand’s fight to protect wildlife from invasive predators and the impact of human activities.Thirtyyears ago, I was in Fiordland’s Murchison Mountains conducting trials on trapping techniques for stoats, one of the worst threats to our native fauna. More recently, I’d been the writer for a Department of Conservation team of scientists working to understand the impact of stoats and rats on Fiordland wildlife. I relished the opportunity to see for myself the islands and wildlife I had been writing about. Our group of 14 travellers crossed Lake Manapōuri and the Wilmot Pass to Pātea Doubtful Sound to meet the crew of the Heritage Explorer, our home for the next seven days. The first briefing from Captain Jim informed us of a severe weather system heading our way. That meant we had limited visibility as we passed Ka Tūwaewae-o-Tū Secretary Island. This is one of the islands where stoats and rats have been eradicated or brought to very low numbers. Secretary and Te Kākahuo-Tamatea Chalky Island are now both rodent free, while Tau Moana Resolution Island is home to mice but not rats. Stoats have also been removed from Pukenuī Anchor Island, Passage Island, and Te Puka-Hereka Coal Island. My DOC research team had been keen to find out how well stoats thrived and what they were eating when their staple prey items (rats) were not available. So they autopsied more than 300 of the captured stoats. It turned out that the Secretary Island stoats had been feasting on wētā. The Resolution Island stoats had mouse remains in their guts, but they had eaten similar numbers of birds and invertebrates as the stoats on Secretary Island, making them an ongoing threat to the island biota. While on Chalky Island, the main prey items of stoats were birds. We passed by Te Au Moana Breaksea Island during the middle of the night. This island had been on my “must-see” list because it was the site that established New Zealanders as expert rat eradicators. While most people know that we are world leaders in using islands as refuges for birds and other endangered species, they may not appreciate the efforts required to remove the pests from those islands and to keep them pest free. In the 1980s, Rowley Taylor and Bruce Thomas, then researchers at Ecology Division DSIR, developed rat-poisoning techniques that resulted in the removal of Norway rats from this 170ha island, using 743 brodifacoum bait stations placed 50m apart. The successful operation silenced critics who had thought it unfeasible to remove rats from such a large and rugged island. It also paved the way for hundreds of rodent eradication campaigns worldwide. Next morning, we were glad to be in the relatively sheltered waters of Tamatea Dusky Sound as the gale swept through. One gust estimated at near hurricane strength shredded the plastic awning from the upper deck. But

FIORDLAND

GOING PLACES

Kay Clapperton visits some of the most important island sanctuaries in the southern fiords. Peter Lo A misty view up Taiari Chalky Inlet.

FABULOUSWildlifescientist

| Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao50

→ the conditions soon improved, and we were able to head out for our first shore excursion up Moana Uta Wet Jacket Arm. On a walk up Herrick Creek to Moose Lake, we were delighted by a close encounter with a kea. DOC and Kea Conservation Trust scientists have been monitoring individual birds and kea nests in various parts of their South Island range. While some birds die from human-induced causes such as lead poisoning and access to pest baits, predation is their main cause of death away from human settlement. Although the kea is often called an alpine parrot, most of them live in forests, even right down to sea level. They forage, roost, and nest on the ground, making them very vulnerable to predators such as stoats and cats. Operations to control pests using 1080 improve kea survival by reducing the density of stoats. The addition of avian repellents is a promising development to further protect our native birds. Day four took us back to some of the earliest history of New Zealand conservation, cruising past Resolution Island and a visit to Wāwāhi Waka Pigeon Island. The former was the first wildlife sanctuary island in New Zealand, the latter the site of the home of Richard Henry, the country’s first “wildlife ranger” in 1894. Mohua yellowhead, tīeke South Island saddleback, kākā, and kakaruai South Island robin live there now, thanks to the recent restoration efforts of the Fiordland Lobster Company in partnership withWhileDOC.there are scant remains of Henry’s house left, you can still see the outline of the enclosure where Henry kept kākāpō, kiwi, and other bird species he had collected from the mainland, before releasing them on what he thought was a safe haven on 20,860ha Resolution Island.

However, the Acheron Passage, between Resolution and the mainland, which is 520m at its narrowest point, proved to be easily crossed by stoats. It is now thought that even 3–5km of open sea might not be a barrier to these capable swimmers. They also use “stepping-stone” islands to cover longerResolutiondistances.Island was only deemed safe again after a massive trapping effort by DOC in 2008, including establishing 230km of trap lines, resulted in the removal of 295 stoats. Even now, the array of 2500+ traps on the island still catch a few stoats. But numbers are low enough to allow the southern Fiordland tokoeka kiwi to thrive, making Resolution Island a key component of the “Save Our Kiwi” campaign.Wepassed between Chalky Island and Passage Island on day five. With the removal of stoats, DOC has been able to translocate orange-fronted kākāriki and the Ashore from the Heritage Explorer at Matauira Spit Island, Preservation Inlet. Kay Clapperton Encounter with a kea on the way to Moose Lake. The remains of Richard Henry’s holding pen for translocating birds on Pigeon Island.

51Spring 2022 |

little-spotted kiwi onto Chalky, along with kakaruai and tīeke. Meanwhile, the highly vulnerable Te Kakahu Chalky Island skink is making a comeback, and some have been translocated to stoat-free Anchor Island at the entrance to DuskyPetrelSound.colonies are also increasing in numbers on Chalky Island, and populations of other seabirds, such as the karuhiruhi pied shag, are recovering. South of Chalky Island, we passed Coal Island. Although less than 400m from the mainland, DOC is maintaining adequate predator control pressure to reintroduce kakaruai, mohua, and Haast tokoeka, with plans for other birds andFiordlandreptiles. also has 10 marine reserves that cover a wide range of habitats. These protect marine mammals, fish, corals, sponges, and other life forms from pollution, overfishing, and disturbance.

GreenwoodEdnaEnvironmentalTRUST | Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao52

Imagine the mixed emotions of this wildlife scientist standing on the almost exact spot where Norway rats first landed in Fiordland. This is the site where Captain Cook brought HMS Resolution in 1773, where the crew tied the ship to a convenient fallen tree trunk to use as a gangway. But first ashore may have been the rats that had journeyed all the way across the world with them from Britain. As Carolyn King reports in her authoritative and very readable account of the history of invasive predators in New Zealand, “Cook was glad to see that the vermin could walk ashore across the bridge.” Not that Norway rats would remain the dominant rat species in Fiordland for long. The ship rat has outcompeted its less agile cousin in mainland forests. Daily onshore excursions impressed on us the diversity of habitats protected in Fiordland. We passed through pristine tōtara and beech forest to lush wetlands, secluded lakes, and spectacular waterfalls. We were surprised to find that Fiordland has not just misty fiords but also sandy beaches and dune habitats. Our return to civilisation was a fitting end to the trip — a helicopter ride from Long Sound in Preservation Inlet back to Te Anau, with sweeping views over the fiords and snow-capped peaks. It brought us back to the modern day – and a realisation of the privilege of being able to explore these rugged islands and their wildlife. As for the future, more islands are being cleared of pests, reinvasions are being managed, and new control techniques are in the pipeline. To book your own Fiordland wildlife voyage, go to www.heritage-expeditions.comhttps://

BIODIVERSITY

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.

Making a comeback – karuhiruhi. New Zealand fur seal pup at Luncheon Cove, Anchor Island. A Buller’s albatross skimming the water.

Ron and

. →

At Luncheon Cove on Anchor Island, we visited the site of the first European house in New Zealand. Sealers rushed to Fiordland in the early 1800s; seal hunting continued until 1946, with the loss of tens of thousands of animals. Delightful encounters with New Zealand fur seals on land and investigating our Zodiacs reassured us this species is recovering from near extermination.Notdoingso well is tawaki, the Fiordland crested penguin. It is one of the rarest penguin species in the world. While fur seals eat penguins, they are not considered to be a major factor in the decline of tawaki, which are at risk from stoat predation and human disturbance of nests. Our group had one fleeting encounter with an individual bird. We did see several of the more abundant Buller’s albatross.Wereached even further back into the history of human impact on Fiordland’s wildlife when we visited Pickersgill Harbour.

Forest & Bird’s prestigious Te Kaiārahi Rangatahi o te Taiao Youth Award is awarded annually to a young person who shows the characteristics of a future conservation leader. Cate Hennessy

Aturning point in this young conservationist’s life came in early 2020, when she happened to pass a Forest & Bird Youth stall at a Victoria University of Wellington open day.

YOUTH AWARD 53Spring 2022 |

Joining Ngā Māhuri Tiaki Forest & Bird Youth allowed Gemma to incorporate her communication studies with her interest in nature and the climate. By mid-2020, she had become part of the Wellington Youth Hub’s leadership team as a social media coordinator. She was soon shouldertapped for the role of Youth Communications Manager and last September stepped up to help lead Forest & Bird Youth as its national Youth Co-Director, working alongside Connor Wallace.

YOUTH GemmaAWARDMarnane FOREST & 2022AWARDSBIRD

“Coming from rural Southland and living in a new city, I was looking for a way to connect with people and find an outlet for my interests,” recalls Gemma Marnane.

YOUTH LEADERSHIP IN A PANDEMIC

Over the last two years, Gemma, now 21, has established a 12-strong national communications team, helped set up new Youth Hubs in Nelson-Tasman, Southern, and North Canterbury, established an education team creating resources for schools, and led 2022’s national Youth hui. In the last six months, Forest & Bird Youth has made submissions on the draft national adaptation plan, lobbied Wellington City Council to invest in nature restoration, and called on the government to adopt more ambitious plans to tackle climate change.Thechallenges are many and not helped by two years of Covid-19 lockdowns and restrictions, but Forest & Bird Youth is here for the duration. Gemma takes a longterm view – everything is a work in progress.“Atlast year’s hui, we discussed how we want Forest & Bird Youth to grow and develop, how best to run events and advocacy campaigns in a pandemic, and ways to coordinate our Youth Hubs across the country,” she says. Gemma played a major role in Youth’s ongoing campaign to try and stop a new coal mine being built at Nightcaps, in Southland, near her family home. Together with Youth Policy Lead George Hobson, Gemma submitted a personal legal affidavit to support Forest & Bird’s landmark court case. For more on this story, see the “Coal must go” article in our Spring 2021 issue and page 8 of thisNowissue.completing a journalism degree at Massey University, Gemma looks back with pride and some surprise at her time with Ngā Māhuri“ThanksTiaki.to the support, hope, and guidance from my team mates, I’ve been able to conquer my fears and achieve things I never thought I wouldForestdo.”&Bird Board member Kaya Freeman, who nominated Gemma for the award, said: “Gemma is an incredibly inspiring leader who goes out of her way to empower and support others. Her impact can be seen across the Youth Network.”

After a long search, the branch bought an unassuming piece of pasture land on Paradise Valley Road, in 2006, from a local farmer. Years of eco-sourced planting followed, which has transformed the half-hectare site into a regenerating forest.

Hubscher Tupeia antarctica mistletoe. Tikitapu Reserve

Forest & Bird’s Rotorua Branch has proved that good things take time and great things take a little longer.ByMegan

Rotorua Branch’s Mike Goodwin clears a trap at Blue Lake.

The branch’s pest control project has expanded over the years to cover 150ha of DOC land on the shores of Lake Tikitapu, targeting possums and rats, and knocking off the odd wallaby for good measure.

Mike Goodwin, a retired Waikato farmer, now a Rotorua Branch committee member, says: “To protect mistletoe, you also have to protect birds, because it’s birds that spread the seeds.”

Great things take time & 2022AWARDSBIRD

Twenty years ago, Forest & Bird’s Rotorua Branch began a trapping and baiting programme to protect the last native mistletoe plants that had escaped the attention of hungry possums near Lake Tikitapu Blue Lake.

BRANCH

Mike also represents Forest & Bird on a local action group that organises wallaby control, part of the national wallaby eradication programme that the Society advocated for a few years ago. Iwi, Federated Farmers, and the local community board are part of the wallaby control group too. The branch also looks after the Violet Bonnington Reserve, which was purchased with a bequest. Violet Bonnington (1899–1985), had a distinguished nursing career, including being Matron of Rotorua Hospital.Shewanted her bequest to be used to buy land for a native bird reserve in a place the Rotorua public could access and enjoy.

Forest & Bird’s branch awards embody the whakataukī Māori proverb: Ehara tāku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa

| Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao54

FOREST

Margaret Dick, who helps run and maintain the now almost fully planted reserve, complete with tracks and a toilet block, says it’s heartening to see how popular the reserve is with locals, which is, after all, what Violet wanted.

Locals are now noticing smallflowered mistletoe (Ileostylus micranthus) and white mistletoe (Tupeia antarctica) are returning, with the added bonus of an increase in birdlife!

The project has also become a focal point for community involvement, with Rotorua’s Youth Hub members helping out, Rotorua Botanical Society taking a lead on weed control, and many others contributing energy and expertise too.

“Thisincreasing.isn’tunusual now, but 20 years ago when we started it was unheard of,” says Mike of the burgeoning birdlife.

The area is a standout biodiversity gem in the region and is a popular place for locals to exercise and get closer to nature, thanks to the multiple tracks that branch volunteers have created.

Mike says, from just 217 mistletoe plants in the early 2000s, close to 3500 individual plants were recently identified. Small groups of kererū can been seen (and heard), and it’s not uncommon to spot up to 30 tūī flying from kōwhai to kōwhai. Tauhou waxeyes abound in their hundreds, while toutouwai North Island robin and hōmiromiro tomtit numbers are also

RotoruaAWARDSBranch

“That we were able to muster nearly 100 volunteers to travel across the Gulf was a remarkable

the branch’s “most heroic achievement” was turning a former sheep farm close to the ferry terminal into He AtawhaiWhenua Reserve.

By Ellen Rykers

Hauraki Island Branch volunteers Julia Mount, Hellen Fuller, Lincoln Jackson, and Emma Schmidt at Forest & Bird’s Onetangi Reserve. takitini. We succeed not by individual achievement but through the help and support of family friends and colleagues.

“One couldn’t drive home from the ferry without stopping to lend a hand – office suit or not,” Mike adds. “Now, it’s a thriving coastal forest.” Mike says the branch also made a major contribution to the restoration of another island sanctuary, Tiritiri Mātangi, in the 1980s.“There’s a place called Waiheke Valley on Tiritiri. Our Forest & Bird volunteers virtually planted the whole valley over two or three years,” adds Mike.

Branch chair Shirin Brown

BRANCH HaurakiAWARDSIslands

55Spring 2022 |

The branch’s volunteers look after three Forest & Bird reserves on Waiheke Island, carrying out regular planting, weeding, and trapping. When they are not out working in the bush, you may find them writing submissions, organising a kauri dieback information session, or renovating Forest & Bird’s 80-year-old Onetangi Cottage.

40 years of service Island life might have a reputation for being cruisy, but for members of Forest & Bird’s Hauraki Islands Branch there’s always mahi to keep them busy.

The current iteration of the branch began in 1982, when lifelong environmentalist and former Auckland City Councillor Mike Lee reinvigorated the Society’s earlier conservation work on the island. He became founding chair of what is now the Hauraki Islands Branch, wanting to reproduce the rich natural biodiversity he saw on Hauturu Little Barrier Island. “Waiheke was a very bare landscape when we started the branch. It was essentially sheep and cattle farms,” Mike remembers.

The branch would like to thank Auckland Council, Foundation North, and Fullers 360 for their support. To volunteer, contact forestandbird.org.nzhaurakislands.branch@

The branch is seeing amazing results at Onetangi Reserve, which the Society bought in the early 1960s. It has been home to nesting kākā since 2016. The branch was also instrumental in securing Te Matuku Marine Reserve off Waiheke.Morerecently, conservation volunteers on the island have been a voice for kororā little penguins at a proposed new marina and working to protect habitat for species like ōi grey faced petrel, pāteke brown teal, and giant kōkopu.“The award is a tremendous boost for our branch. I believe the Hauraki Islands Forest & Bird is an incredible institution,” says outgoing chair Shirin Brown. “It is vitally important we continue to build the biodiversity of our reserves on land and at sea as it comes under ever increasing human pressure.”

It was transformed “tree by tree, plant by plant” by a handful of Forest & Bird volunteers led by the late Don DuringChapple.thedrought of 1993–94, volunteers “lugged buckets of water up the hill to lovingly tend to each plant that had gone in the previous winter,” says Mike.

“There were good stands of native bush at the eastern end, but by and large grass was the main vegetation. It looks very different today. Forest & Bird has certainly changed the landscape on Waiheke.”Mikereckons

Former branch chair Mike Lee testament to the influence of Forest & Bird’s Waiheke section and how conservation had captured the public’s imagination at that time.”

SECRET SANCTUARY | TĀWHARANUI WRITER

FAT LITTLE PŪKEKO. Don’t mind me. I was tiptoeing through the trees. And then I saw you! Tiptoeing through your living Perhapsroom. I should have knocked. Fat little pūkeko.

For more information, see https://www.26.org.uk/projects/26-habitats

You’re no pūkeko at all! You’re a trim little takahē! And this isn’t your living room. It’s your sanctuary. Your refuge. Your shield. Go forth, little takahē. Be invisible once more. And if anyone ever asks. Tell ‘em what you are. Just a fat little pūkeko.

LookWatching.Waiting.atthose magnificent navy Andfeathers.flashy red beak. Where are your friends? And is that… a bracelet? Fat little pūkeko!

Tāwharanui Regional Park isn’t a secret anymore. It used to be. Or perhaps we just weren’t looking hard enough. Maybe Auckland grew so big that one day it landed on our doorstep without us knowing how it ever got there. First and foremost, Tāwharanui Regional Park is a sanctuary. That’s not a secret either. There are multiple signs that warn you of the precious native birds that swoop and scurry through this land. You never really expect to see anything of the sort. If they’re protected, they must be rare sightings, right? It only took a few steps out of the

PERSONAL PLEDGE We pledge to be respectful guests. To not disturb the peace inside someone else’s home. To be awestruck observers should our hosts decide to greet us. Fat little pūkeko centena by Scott Moyes. Illustration by Aimee Moyes

Scott Moyes ARTISTIC PARTNER Aimee Moyes carpark to see the fattest pūkeko in the country and then another. In just a few more, we realised what they truly were. Takahē are astoundingly rare. There are only about 400 left, making them five times more endangered than giant pandas. To see not one but two of them going about their daily business was wildlyTāwharanuiunexpected.isa fantastic place for takahē and other vulnerable native birds to call home. It’s situated on a peninsula, making it difficult for predators to enter. There’s also enough protective forest for them to hide in, just as they did for many years when we thought they were extinct. I wonder how strong that protection will be as more and more people discover the gem that is Tawharanui. Will the takahē retreat further into their sanctuary for a bit of peace and quiet? Perhaps they’ll become more accustomed to seeing our unusual faces? And if we see more of them, maybe we’ll feel more compelled to fight for their Tāwharanuisurvival?Regional Park may not be a secret anymore, but perhaps that’s a good thing.

26 HABITATS NZ

In the last of our 26 Habitats NZ series, five leading New Zealand writers contemplate the power of restoring nature for people and planet. Each writer/artist pairing had to write a centena, essay, artwork, and pledge inspired by their chosen habitat.

RESTORATION TIME

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57Spring 2022 |

As the eight habitats were assigned, I found myself with fresh water, which was perfect. My creative partner Elle lives close to the Whanganui River. We talked about the river and its place as a highway and food source.

The forest floor used to absorb most of the rainfall, allowing any excess to slowly leak into the river. Now there is no filter. The rains hit grassland and surge into the river. I learned of the torrentfish, who live in the fast-moving parts and play in the river’s “riffles”, a word I’d never heard of but am now ushering into my lexicon. Then there are the tiny sparkly galaxias. Their young life – whitebait – are netted and scrambled by humans for breakfast as part of a Kiwi tradition. I learned about the river as a home for many species, and the | RIVER

The spiritual link that local Māori have to te awa is profound. It’s been described as a feeling, a longing. It is a river that speaks to you if you let Earlierit. this year, Elle and I ran a creative workshop next to the river and that’s when I formed my relationship with it. I felt it was our job, through this project, to protect it. Its threats are many – including sediment run-off, misdirected sewerage, jetboats, and the chaotic balance between nature and farming.

PERSONAL PLEDGE I pledge to not allow the enormity of the issue subsume my efforts to do the little things every day that can make a positive difference. Illustration below: Location, Location, Location by Elle Anderson Whanganui River circa 1930-40. Photographer not known. Alexander Turnbull Library, Walter Nash collection

WHANGANUI

Elle Anderson

WRITER Jane Berney ARTISTIC PARTNER

GOING. GOING. GONE. Location, location, location. Often sought. Rarely found. Step this way, prepare to plunge your shovel in the ground. Picture throughthismud and silt, the indoor-outdoor flow. Ignore that space between the rocks where willows used to grow. Believe your ears, no tweets nor calls. No irritating song. We’re confident this environment will all too soon be RichtorrentsRapidsgone.here,there. tonesofbrown and yellow. Safe for paddling, wading, rafting; no creatures swim below. Landbank or clear; it’s in your hands. For if you’ve got the vision this is the place that offers you location.location.location. impact of humans on it, and I felt angry. I channel my anger into irony – employing terminology used to market real estate, including puns and promises, into my centena. It seemed only natural to bookend it with a veiled attribution to UK television property idols Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer.

TE AWA

To soldiers and horses, plants and flowers come and go with the seasons. As food. As cover. If one day they are no longer there, is it marked on a military map, do the mustered horses miss them?

NETWORK ENABLED ARMY | WAIOURU WRITER Kit Lawrence

The idea of a military base making its mark in an area of outstanding beauty, living side by side with endangered plants and flowers, seems strange to me. I wonder how they feel about it too.Waiouru is known by scientists, Department of Conservation workers, Kaimanawa wild horses, and New Zealand Defence Force soldiers, who must complete their initial basic training there. I phoned the army base from a number found on their website and was immediately put through to a senior officer. As soon as he answers – using a particular type of code for his rank and department –I realise I am, of course, out of my depth.Isit up a little straighter and have a 10-minute conversation with a hardened soldier about the at-risk flora of the Waiouru military training area. He is friendly, tells me the Army works closely with DOC, and directs me to a comms person who can help me with my “article”. I don’t tell him my article is a 100word centena, and I don’t call the number.Since the late 1930s, the Army has used the landscape to conduct drills, dig trenches, build huts, blast shells, practice manoeuvres, learn survival, and train young soldiers to defend New Zealand in places far beyond these hills. Since the late 1800s, Kaimanawa horses have cut trails, grazed, given birth, and stared at something in the distance we can’t see.

Michelle Penrice

A Network Enabled Army test Firepower, Operational Vehicles and Soldier Modernisation amongst endangered buttercups in the shadow of Ruapehu.

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Illustration: Michelle Penrice

INCENDIARY ILLUMINATES THE FLUSH ZONE

While wild Kaimanawa horses whose ancestors recall 60-pound artillery practice and a time before mustering graze the tarn margins, a creeping perennial (a 21-tonne eightwheeled New Zealand Light Armoured cutsVehicle)ableeding edge of red tussock. From the camouflage of bastard grass and the slowly returning broadleaf, incendiary illuminates the Flush Zone. A smoke somewhatplumeflaccid to weakly tufted hangs above the water brome. Forget-me-nots and combat operations in a complex, integrated and austere environment. A network enabled. live firing assaults at Waiouru, 2013. NZ Defence Force/Wikimedia

BIODIVERSITY

OUR PLEDGE When our baby arrives in itSeptember willrequire special words to soothe its tears and bring about its first smile. It already knows our voices. ARTISTIC PARTNER

Conducting

WRITER Catherine Macdonald ARTISTIC PARTNER

The fauna, those that could, retreated up his slopes took all they had just getting there.

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JUST GETTING THERE Just getting there it’s a two hour and a twenty minute fromdrive Whanganui to New Plymouth two and a three quarters if you take the coastal road either way you’re driving through the land of milk and oil.

Frances Stachl (Ngāpuhi) the ground, I’m horrified to see a disposable coffee cup on the side of the path. We pick it up. Wilkies Pools are found at the base of some small waterfalls in a fresh mountain water stream that follows the lines of a lava flow. The water is cold, even in summer it is only about two degrees. In one of the pools there’s a plastic wrapper caught in an eddy. I can’t get over people leaving rubbish there. It seems such a long way to go just to litter. I’m reminded of the saying “take only photos leave only footprints”. This maunga is sacred to Māori and should be treated as such by all.

To tread carefully on this earth for we know not what lives where our footfalls our moving makes place for those that are and will follow. Taruna (Māori meaning: ‘to be connected’) by Frances Stachl. Media: fine and sterling silver, 18K gold Leigh Mitchell-Anyon Wilkies Pools with Mount Taranaki DOC

It’s green – lush, prosperous looking the proverbial back bone of the nation’s economy it’s also a countryside stripped of its eitherbush way you go you pass by Taranaki Maunga sitting there with a skirt of green allbushthat’s left of those forests.

GOBLIN FOREST | TARANAKI

This patch of forest on the slopes of Mount Taranaki is unique, formed after an eruption about 400 years ago took out the tōtara and rātā, leaving stumps on which kāmahi trees, a type of epiphyte, have flourished. It’s lush, green, and full of twisted trunks and branches draped in moss and lichen, and quite fantastical.Itishome to the giant carnivorous Powelliphanta land snails. I don’t think of a snail as being a mountain creature. I also don’t think of a snail being an apex predator of the insect world. I spend a lot of the walk looking at the ground hoping to see one, knowing I won’t – they are nocturnal. While looking at

PERSONAL PLEDGE

WAIHEKE WORKING BEE

BIODIVERSITY

Habitat Hobsonville is a community-based group of volunteers that is focused on restoring and enhancing the local habitat around Hobsonville. We do this by engaging with the Silver ONEKIRITEA RAT LINE 71-80

Te Ara Manawa. Chris Veale

PERSONAL PLEDGE

The walkway is an almost flat, looping track that hugs the peninsula’s shoreline and then cuts across the township from coast to coast. It passes through several neighbourhoods as well as the bustling waterfront at Catalina Bay and peaceful bush-clad gullies. Onekiritea is the traditional name for Hobsonville Point and the kāinga settlement once located here. It also refers to the white clays sourced on the peninsula.

MY TRAPLINE | ONEKIRITEA WRITER Sue Heggie ARTISTIC PARTNER Leanne

In May, the Auckland Branch combined with the North Shore Branch for their annual tree planting on the Society’s Onetangi Reserve on Waiheke Island. The reserve comprises some 124 acres about half of which is standing bush. About 50 people attended and almost 100 trees were planted.

A certain satisfaction is found in wire embedded in grey neck fur, the flattened, soft body, tiny, splayed feet, baby teeth comically bared, the wide dead eyes surprised. Certain too, is sorrow. Are tūi chortling, geckos grinning, sleeking through grasses, kōtare deliberately blue streaking, pīwakawaka defiantly dancing a merry fan-span flutter? Or are they simply cravat chucklers, sassy skirt-swingers out on the sunshine rantan, berry-smeared, pollen-dusted jazz devotees, oblivious as dotterel chicks in a cat’s shadow? If it is a knowing yahoo, a hopeful hullabaloo, a treetops tipsy tango, then, at this particular crime scene there is a certain satisfaction. Reaching for the sun by Leanne Silver local community, removing weeds and noxious plants, reducing pest animals, and replanting water catchments and coastal esplanades. We are working closely with Auckland council, Kāinga Ora, Kāipatiki Project, Little Creatures, and others to develop a sustainable entity that is a champion for the environment and conservation. In early winter last year, 123 pests were trapped, which included 12 possums, 30 rats, four hedgehogs, and 77 mice.

My 10 traps are part of Te Ara Manawa, a 5km walkway around Hobsonville Point. The name was gifted by local mana whenua Te Kawerau a Maki and Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara, and means “the pathway among the mangroves”, while manawa also refers to the heart or seat of human emotions.

Forest and Bird, Issue 185, August 1972

I will continue to volunteer for Habitat Hobsonville, participate in their initiatives, and monitor “my” rat line for as long as I remain on the Point.

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OBITUARY

A tribute to Reverend Sylvia Jenkin, Old Blue and life member of Forest & Bird. Margaret Smith.

Since then, Friends of Maara Roa volunteers have planted nearly 90,000 trees in the area.

As deaconess, as minister, and in retirement, Sylvia Jenkin was a practical, intelligent, and committed worker for the good of the community and the natural environment. Her vision and leadership in developing the Opportunity Centre in Porirua in the 1970s, the Mountain View Rest Home in Kawerau in the 1980s, and the Maara Roa forest restoration project in Cannons Creek in the 2000s reflected her Christian values and practical approach. Sylvia was born in Timaru on 17 August 1930. On leaving Timaru Girls High, she worked for the State Advances Corporation and then Timaru Public Library. But she was not destined to remain a librarian. In 1952, she decided that she wanted to work full-time in the Presbyterian Church. In 1956, Sylvia completed deaconess training. She worked as a deaconess until 1969. In 1973, she gained her BA and was ordained as one of the first women ministers in the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa NewAsZealand.Community Minister in St Martins, Porirua, Sylvia established the Opportunity Centre for local youth and their families. In 1980, she moved to Kawerau Parish, in the Bay of Plenty. While there, she led the group that founded the Mountain View Rest Home. In 1995, Sylvia retired and moved into her own home, in Leicester Street, near Cannons Creek in Porirua. She enjoyed having more time for family and friends and for volunteering. But her greatest contribution in retirement was to conservation. In the late 1990s, Sylvia took a leadership role in developing the Cannons Creek group now known as Friends of Maara Roa. Local people were concerned at the neglect of a valley area known as Te Awa-Iti, once a site of healing springs and cultivated gardens. The group wanted to restore the land, retain public access, and contribute towards establishing an ecological bush corridor linking the east and west side of Belmont Regional Park. This covered a huge area from Porirua to Lower Hutt. Then conservationists learned Landcorp was proposing to sell its Waitangirua Farm, which was located in the regional park, into private hands for possible housing.

61Spring 2022 |

In 2004, Sylvia prepared a campaign strategy to secure public ownership of the farm for conservation and recreation. More than 11,500 people signed a petition organised by the Friends of Maara Roa. The campaign was a success, and the government agreed to purchase the farm for $6.27m, with contributions from Greater Wellington and Porirua City councils. Landcorp continued farming as leaseholder

“Without Sylvia’s vision, energy, and strategic skills, this restoration project would not have taken the successful form it has,” said the Friends of Maara Roa in a recentSylvianewsletter.wentonto receive a Civic Award in 2002 for her work in and around Porirua, and four years later she was named Wellingtonian of the Year for community service.In2015, she received a Forest & Bird Old Blue award for her outstanding contribution to conservation, including her work on the Maara Roa project.

Sylvia Lois Jenkin, Presbyterian deaconess and minister, community worker, and conservationist: born Timaru, 17 August 1930; died Tawa, Wellington, 18 May 2022, aged 91.

VISIONARY LEADER

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Permission to snare him was refused by the Wildlife Service, which came as a bit of a relief for the Marineland team as they had not realised just how big he was. The poor elephant seal was not without his worries.

LAST WORD

People soon learned to leave Jumbo alone, and he stayed until December, when he finally slid into the sea for the last time. Or did he?

Jumbo was a fine figure of an elephant seal but wasn’t always made welcome in Riversdale. Wairarapa Archives

Jumbo became a star and made all the papers but not always for the right reasons. “Jumbo Frisky and Ferocious” roared one headline. “Jumbo flexes his blubber” proclaimed another.

In September 1976, a large creature hauled itself out of the sea at Riversdale Beach on the Wairarapa coast. It was a 4.2m male elephant seal between two and a half and three and a half tonnes. Quickly named Jumbo by the residents, he became a major attraction but soon outlived his welcome.

JAUNT JUMBO’S

Two years later, a large and familiar creature hauled himself out of the water at Riversdale Beach. Yes, Jumbo, having enjoyed his last stay, was back. It did not turn out to be the quiet holiday he hoped. He had to chase away photographers and film crews who arrived from all over the country to badger him. Jumbo eventually checked out of his seaside resort and back into the blissful quiet of the sea, well away from the prying humans and their harrying ways.

Jumbo liked Riversdale and decided to stick around. The main road, residents’ front lawns, and the camping ground were all nice spots, Jumbo thought, to have a rest. A motorist in his nice red Jaguar made a hasty retreat when Jumbo objected to this noisy metal creature and lumbered towards him at frightening speed.

Two weeks after his arrival, Jumbo was still at Riversdale. A team from a marine mammal park drove down from Orewa in Auckland to capture him. They had thought they could simply throw a net around him and lift him onto the back of their truck.

A ludicrous piece appeared in a Sydney paper, in which the actually pretty placid elephant seal was now “Tusks”, a mutated bull sea elephant who had apparently “already killed four dogs in a wild rampage through the main street”.

Who remembers the day a very large and slightly grumpy holiday guest arrived at Riversdale Beach? Mark Pacey

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Children thought it a fun game to whack Jumbo with sticks and then run away. The authorities were quick to come to Jumbo’s defence, stating anyone caught annoying the seal would be fined.

Mark Pacey is an archivist at the Wairarapa Archive, which is based in Masterton. It holds an incredible two million archives, as well as numerous newspapers, diaries, minute books, publications, interviews, and much more. Please visit https:// library.mstn.govt.nz/archive/ or email Mark at markp@mstn.govt.nz if you need help locating an archive.

How to enter: Share your images of native birds, trees, flowers, insects, lizards, marine animals, or natural landscapes, and be in to win. Send your high-res digital file and brief details about your photo to Caroline Wood at org.nzeditor@forestandbird. best entry will be published in the next issue of Forest & Bird magazine.

James took this dazzling photo of a chorus cicada early one morning at Eliza’s Manor Hotel, in Christchurch, when he was getting the courtyard ready for guests. Amphipsalta zealandica is our most common and loudest cicada and is endemic to Aotearoa. They are commonly found in open forests and woodlands but can also be spotted in towns and cities, on buildings, fences, or lamp posts. The males produce their cicada sound in unison, and this can reach deafening proportions in the height of summer, around February.

. The

James Sumner

WILD ABOUT NATURE PHOTO

PartingCOMPETITIONshot

The prize: The prize: The winner will receive this limited edition Hannah Shand fine art print Sailing Sooty (A2 size, RRP $380). This stunning toroa pango light-mantled sooty albatross artwork was inspired by Hannah’s voyage with Heritage Expeditions to the sub-Antarctic Islands, where she was lucky to see some nesting on Campbell Island. The reference photograph was taken by Aaron Russ, of Heritage Expeditions, on the cliffs of Enderby Island. Sailing Sooty by Hannah Shand. Also available in A4, A3, and A1 sizes from www.hannahshandart.com

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