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By Lyn Wade, Little Barrier Island Supporters Trust
For many of us, Hauturu/Little Barrier Island appears daily on our horizon as we drive around the local area or walk on the beaches. For most of us, ever getting to the island seems unlikely. It has been described as one of the most intact ecosystems and is seen as one of the last remnants of primeval New Zealand. Its rich biodiversity makes it one of the most important nature reserves in the world. To help protect the island, visitor numbers are limited and a permit is required to land there with strict quarantine procedures.
The island is free of mammalian pests but has persistent weeds like pampas and climbing asparagus. In 1997, the Little Barrier Island (Hauturu) Supporters Trust was formed to assist the Department of Conservation with projects, particularly weed eradication. Over the last 19 years, the trust has raised several hundred thousand dollars, which has helped tremendously with this battle. The trust has also helped with other projects on the island such as NZ storm petrel research and provision of a visitors’ toilet, as well as a twice yearly newsletter. The trust organises up to four working weekends a year to enable a handful of people to appreciate this special place, as well as assisting the island rangers with a variety of tasks.
The island was home to Maori for hundreds of years and remnants of their gardens are still present. The original acquisition of the island from Maori in 1894, like many other such transactions at the time, was not handled well. In 2012, a Treaty Settlement was reached with Ngati Manuhiri, whose ancestors have a strong connection to the island. Ngati Manuhiri generously returned the island to the people of NZ retaining 1.2ha as a link to their heritage.
News from the island
A volunteer maintenance team has recently been on the island painting the outside and repairing the decks of the 14-bed bunkhouse used by researchers and volunteers. A paid weed team, with some assistance from volunteers, was working on the island from September to December last year. They achieved some remarkable results with over 12,000 pampas plants (many of them seedlings) destroyed, helping to break that seeding cycle. Teams of researchers have been out on the island studying the NZ storm petrel and the endangered black petrel, which both breed on the island. A reconnaissance of Cooks petrels has also been conducted prior to a planned translocation of some chicks to Boundary Stream in Hawkes Bay in March.
Species still seem to be recovering from the kiore eradication of 2004, with many more sightings of skinks and geckos plus an increase in seedlings from a number of palatable plant species. The Supporters Trust has secured funding for a short video on the richness of the island’s biodiversity.
For more information (or just to hear the bird song) check out littlebarrierisland.org.nz.
