September 17th, 2024
The Department of Conservation (DOC) in New Zealand has allocated $930,000 from the Jobs for Nature program to the Ruahine Kiwi Project. The initiative aims to support the restoration and maintenance of the Ruahine Ranges to enable the return and thriving of native species, including kiwi. The funding will be used to complete pest control in Southern Ruahine, which has been running since September 2021. To date, the project has deployed and maintained trap lines that cover over 20,000 hectares.
The project has collaborated with multiple external agencies and groups, extending their budget by utilising these relationships. Notably, Ryman Healthcare's residents have built 610 traps to date. The New Zealand Air Force has also contributed to the project by dropping 120 traps to the project area in November, saving the team many hours of labour carrying the traps to the top of the Ngamoko Range.
The project currently employs eight people ranging from part-time to full-time, with two teams working on the east and west of the Southern Ruahine respectively. The reduction of mustelids (stoats and ferrets) and other pests in the Southern Ruahine is expected to have huge conservation benefits, according to Ian Rasmussen, Ruahine Kiwi Project Coordinator.
"We're working towards the goal of returning North Island eastern brown kiwi to the area, so we need to have very low numbers of mustelids detected before we are able to release any kiwi," says Rasmussen. "The mahi is progressing really well, it's an exciting project to be a part of, and we feel good that we are helping out such an important taonga."
The Jobs for Nature program is a $1.219 billion investment by the Government of New Zealand in the creation of thousands of nature-based jobs. The initiative will allocate $488 million to projects that will create nature-based job opportunities for approximately 4,800 people over a four-year period, supercharging the conservation efforts of DOC, iwi and hapū, councils, and the wider community to implement kaitiakitanga. The funding will help restore the mauri and mana of Te Taiao (our nature) by controlling pests and weeds, restoring wetlands, and returning native bush, rivers, and streams to health, according to the Department of Conservation.