What’s On - Summer 2013-14
behind project to make Great Mercury Is pest-free
us concept and a rous proposition.” are very pleased eing invited to be e project by helping and identify pests s, he says. ject manager Peter delighted with ort which he says al to the project's
n (pictured left and ht) started work on ct last year and says ost exciting one ed on in his 20 years department. “You've ohutukawa coastal d you can have kids long the beaches over a log and find
f the island have urprising amount
Peter Corson).
of biodiversity, with rare tiny snails and other invertebrates and threatened plants. And when the rats and cats are removed the bird life will explode, he says. There have never been possums or mustelids, like stoats and weasels, on the island but there are kiore and ship rats and feral cats. In June next year stock will be removed from the island to allow for two applications of the poison, brodifacoum. It should wipe out the rats and those cats which eat poisoned rats. Two hunters will spend six months targeting the rest of the cat population. Boaties will be asked to stay off the island for a total of about two weeks, during the applications of the poison. After about three months
stock will be taken back to the island and will continue to graze about 30 per cent of it, as part of an agreement with Ngati Hei to keep historical sites clear of vegetation. Sir Michael said on Friday night that it's the arrival of Ngati Hei's ancestors on the island that make it unique. Archaeologists from Auckland University are working to pin down the exact role the island played in the early peopling of New Zealand. A large pine forest on the island will largely be left alone to provide shelter for the native plant forest growing up underneath. Sir Michael says it's remarkable the amount of natural regeneration occurring on the island but extensive planting is also being done.
Mr Corson says the project has four aims: to reduce the threat to the other pest-free islands in the Mercury Group; to restore species and natural processes on Great Mercury; to restore threatened species; and to act as a showcase where people can appreciate a pest-free island. A big risk in the project is the introduction of mice into a predator-free environment. The mice population could explode and prove extremely difficult to eradicate. Boaties are being asked to ensure they don't accidentally carry mice onto their boats in gear and provisions and to install traps or poison stations on their boats.
Surveys of the island have found a surprising amount of biodiversity.
The Peninsula Post - November 21 2013 25