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Auckland Council’s proposed project to rid Kawau Island of rats, stoats, possums and wallabies has been modified, following community consultation.
Since the proposal was initially presented last summer, alterations prompted by feedback have been made, pest eradication project lead Lisa Tolich told a Rodney Local Board workshop on February 28.
Council is now looking at two stand-alone, consecutive projects.
The first would focus on eradicating wallabies and possums (“browsers”) over a period of around 24 months, carried out through hunting in the case of wallabies, and a combination of hunting and bait stations to target possums.
Provided the necessary funding was obtained, this project could get underway in about a year’s time. Council said the benefits for native bush regeneration would be quickly evident.
A subsequent project would focus on rats (as well as stoats, if their presence on Kawau was confirmed), and would not likely start before the winter of 2026.
The rodents would be killed using a combination of ground-based and aerial broadcasting of bait, and the use of bait stations stocked with the toxin brodifacoum.
“The benefits of the second project would be demonstrated through longer-term biodiversity monitoring of ecosystems and individual species,” council said in a report to the board.
While consultation found that the goal of a pest-free Kawau enjoyed broad support, elements of council’s original proposal attracted some community pushback (MM, September 11, 2023).
There were objections to eradicating wallabies at all, concerns that brodifacoum could harm non-target species, and opposition to non-islanders seeking access to private properties to monitor and maintain rodent traps.
Tolich said deferring the timeline for the second project would allow additional time to work with the community on the “more controversial” rodent eradication element, to build relationships and trust, and to work with individual residents on unique requirements relating to their properties.
Council had not shut the door to suggestions – also arising during the consultation process – that a captive population of wallabies be allowed to remain on Kawau, she said.
Should that happen, any such facility would be on public conservation land, would require the involvement of “a group of motivated individuals”, and would entail conditions such as the wallabies being desexed and microchipped.
Tolich said council was supportive of a new community-based initiative, the Kawau Community Conservation Trust (KCCT), which aimed to focus on eliminating rats (MM, February 19).
She noted that the KCCT plan aimed to control rat numbers, not eradicate them altogether, but “it could be a stepping stone towards that”.
Board member Michelle Carmichael asked about the potential use of the 1993 Biosecurity Act to compel resisting landowners to allow access to their properties, one of the more controversial issues to arise in the original proposal.
“That is a fallback option, and the absolutely last option that you’d ever want to use,” Tolich said.
In a bid to deepen community involvement and buy-in, council is proposing the establishment of a community forum and a six-person steering committee.
The six seats on the steering committee would be occupied by a representative of the new community forum, the chairs of two existing community groups – Kawau Island Residents and Ratepayers Association (KIRRA) and the Pohutukawa Trust – and representatives of council, Department of Conservation and Ngāti Manuhiri.
Finances for the project remained a challenge, council said. In addition to funding from Predator Free 2050 and in-kind support from DOC, council was exploring funding from the Crown and non-government entities. Funds for the wallaby and possum project would need to be in place before the eradication started in financial year 2024/2025, it added.
