Bush Fence Keeps PredAtors at Bay
New Zealand Herald
24 Februrary 2004
COMMENT
An exciting milestone for conservation will be reached
in the next fortnight when 30ha of native-bush-clad
Maungatautari will be enclosed by a predator-proof fence.
The enclosure on the northern side of the 800m Waikato
mountain - and another more than twice the size on its
southern flank expected to be ready by May - will be
the testing ground for an ambitious plan to ring-fence
the entire 3400ha forested summit.
The dream of the Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust
is to create an "island" on the mainland where
native birds, insects, reptiles, frogs and other wildlife
can flourish unmolested by introduced killers such as
mice, rats, stoats and possums.
The advantage of this central North Island refuge -
within a few minutes' drive of State Highways 1 and
3 - is that, unlike offshore conservation islands, it
is readily accessible.
Maungatautari is already a public reserve popular with
trampers and generations of schoolchildren, many of
whom probably had one of their few experiences of native
bush on school camps at nearby Lake Karapiro.
How much better those experiences would be if the mountain
was restocked with kiwi, kereru, tui, korimako (bellbirds),
kokako, kaka, kakariki, hihi (stitchbirds), toutouwai
(robins), skinks, geckos, giant weta and tuatara.
Despite claims to be "clean and green", New
Zealand has the dubious reputation of extinction capital
of the world with more than 2300 species listed as threatened.
The key to the goal of the trust, formed in February
2002, is new pest-proof fencing technology - like the
song, so high you can't get over it, so low you can't
get under it, so wide, you can't get round it.
The Xcluder fence has already proved its worth around
16ha of bush and farmland on the Karapiro property of
trust chairman David Wallace and his wife, Juliette,
who last year raised 25 kiwi chicks in their refuge.
Wallace hopes one day to release kiwi on Maungatautari
where, protected by 47km of unique fencing, their numbers
could rise to around 3000. It would be a huge turnaround
from the current expectation that, in the next 30 years,
kiwi and a number of other native birds will be lost
for ever from the mainland.
Among the next steps for the trust are to eradicate
pests within the enclosures and raise money.
Chief executive Jim Mylchreest says an all-out effort
will be made during August and September to kill every
last predator inside the refuges. Intensive monitoring
will follow in the hope that results live up to the
optimism of experts who believe a unique, total pest
kill is possible.
Speedy predator control will mean speedy introduction
of threatened species and a boost to numbers of animals
already within the area, such as tui.
By next summer the trust hopes to fence the remaining
41km of Maungatautari.
Its vision has already attracted an impressive line-up
of supporters who have donated nearly $3 million in
cash or goods. They range from family memberships at
$55 a time to $1.3 million from the gaming trust, Scottwood
Trust. In addition, Waipa District Council has pledged
$2 million for road upgrades and the like around the
mountain.
The trust estimates that it will need $14 million to
complete the project, and Wallace says Government input
will be vital to an undertaking with undoubted national
significance.
He hopes the Government will pledge at least $6 million
to the sanctuary, but is adamant that within five years
the scheme will be self-supporting, with 87,000 tourists
visiting every year.
If so, it will be a rarity and surely a shining beacon
of conservation - a preservation effort that is not
a permanent drain on the public purse.
www.maungatrust.org
Maungatautari Aim: Protecting native species
Area: 3400ha
Cost: $14 million
Target: 87,000 tourists a year
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