New Plymouth volunteers are sought to help unite urban trappers and take predator control to the next level as part of Towards Predator-Free Taranaki. The region-wide biodiversity restoration project is looking for volunteers in urban New Plymouth to help expand the effort – the aim is to have one in five households trapping in their backyards. Project Manager Toby Shanley says volunteers are needed for two roles: community champions to advocate for and co-ordinate trapping efforts in suburbs;
rural trial, across 16,000 hectares between New Plymouth and Egmont National Park is part of Towards Predator-Free Taranaki, helping restore biodiversity by removing rats, possums and stoats from rural, urban and conservation land. Chris and Mike started contracting to Towards Predator-Free Taranaki in December 2018, diversifying from work in seismic drilling for Taranaki’s oil and gas industry. Less than a year into contract work, helping residents remove rats, possums and stoats to better care for
Ordinary Council Agenda May 2024
catches will likely reduce within the first one to two weeks, when rat numbers take a hit, but it’s important to keep your traps set so they can’t make a come-back and biodiversity continues to be protected.” He also reminded trappers to record their catches in the Trap NZ website or app, www.trap.nz helping monitor community predator control. New Plymouth city and surrounding areas in the district are the current focus of Towards Predator-Free Taranaki as it rolls around the region. The long-term
region’s biodiversity trust) have been amazing in our conservation efforts. It’s helping us create a walkway connecting special parts of native bush spread across properties in the area, helping realise the dreams and aspirations we have for the land."
predator control, analysing catches, checking traps on public land, making traps and selling traps to local residents as a fund-raiser. Many students are also using the biodiversity app iNaturalist; www.inaturalist.org/projects/towards-predator-free-taranaki-bioblitz-network helping monitor native wildlife and plants.
The first North Island robin to be seen at Pukeiti in 112 years was spotted after intensive predator control in the area. Robin returned to Pukeiti, after being released following
landscape-scale predator control on urban, rural and conservation land, Mr Shanley says. A collective effort by local residents, Taranaki Regional Council, Taranaki Mounga, an ecological restorative project on Egmont National Park, local iwi and schools is helping remove rats, possums and stoats to restore native biodiversity in the area, as part of Towards Predator-Free Taranaki. Mr Church hasn’t seen a possum on his property since September 2019, but understands they are skilled at staying out of sight. If
management ............................................................... 5
Delivering on freshwater ............................................................................ 7
Addressing climate change ........................................................................ 9
Our approach to possum control .............................................................. 11
Protecting indigenous biodiversity ........................................................... 13
The future
Gardens are best suited to Mondays and Fridays due to staff availability. Trips to Pukeiti and Tupare can be arranged for any day of the week. Protecting native biodiversityNative wildlife in Taranaki is under constant attack from pest animals and plants, posing a serious threat to regional biodiversity values. Lessons about pest animals and plants can be taken at school or at the Council gardens. They cover the damage they cause and how they can be controlled. There are also a number of relevant mini
offshore. The Proposed Plan includes greater protection for areas with significant ecological and cultural importance. Comprehensive targeted consultation has already taken place, including an innovative public survey to determine priorities for surf breaks. The Proposed Plan also takes central Government directives into account. Useful facts on freshwater fishA new NIWA stocktake of taonga freshwater populations will prove most useful as the Council continues to develop its biodiversity and freshwater