CONTESTABLE FUNDING SUPPORT

Supporting Stewardship with The Stephenson Fund

The registration of a QEII covenant is just the start of a story. Improving and enhancing the values inside a covenant is an ongoing journey.

One of the ways we support landowners with stewardship is through contestable funds like The Stephenson Fund and the Auckland Council Fund. This funding can help landowners with a range of projects including predator and pest plant control, revegetation and supporting recreational use.

The funds are run annually and applications for the 2022 round were invited during July-August. We’ll email members when the 2023 round is open for applications, so if you need to update your contact details, please let us know.

The Stephenson Fund

Established in 2017 and named after key founders of the QEII National Trust, Gordon and Celia Stephenson, the aim of the fund is to encourage stewardship on QEII covenants and strengthen our partnership with landowners by providing funding for projects that will enhance these protected places.

Predator control at Hutton’s Shearwater colony

With help from the seventh round of The Stephenson Fund, Nicky McArthur received a grant to support a predator control project to protect the Hutton’s shearwater (Puffinus huttoni) colony at the head of the Shearwater Stream on her Puhi Peaks covenant in the Kaikoura Ranges.

The objective was to significantly increase the level of predator trapping throughout the covenant, with the primary focus of protecting the Hutton’s shearwater colony. Monitoring showed that the population of the colony had been severely impacted by predators, particularly stoats and feral cats. The effects of climate change were also beginning to have an impact on the population due to the retreat of the snowline, which allowed rats to survive at higher altitudes, closer to the nesting area of the endangered species.

The project supplemented existing trap lines on the covenant and adjacent land which has been ongoing since 2007. It also aimed to expand the trapping network to target all predators found in the area.

The funding was used to establish two new trap lines in September 2022. Traps were constructed and deployed by Wildlife Management International Ltd (WMIL) and staff from Puhi Peaks Station. Puhi Peaks staff also received training on trap checking and maintenance to enable the ongoing success of the network.

In addition to establishing a robust trapping network to support the Hutton’s shearwater colony, this project will also benefit other native species and the overall biodiversity in the Puhi Peaks covenant area.

Traps were transported by light utility vehicle to the treeline

Photo credit: WMIL

Puhi Peaks station manager, Wayne, installing traps.

Photo credit: WMIL

Kea proof traps

Photo credit: WMIL

WMIL team members transporting traps manually

Photo credit: WMIL

Okaramio wetland clean up

Covenantors Sue and Allan Minehan applied for funding in the eighth round of The Stephenson Fund in 2022. Their wetland covenant in Marlborough had been affected by heavy rains and flooding in the upper South Island in August 2022. The storm caused a slip to come down the creek and into the wetland from a neighbouring property, leaving silt behind.

The funding was used to clear the silt that had spread throughout the flow points in the wetland. The clean-up took place in February. The water level in the wetland was dropped by using three outfall pipes and a contractor removed the silt using an excavator, taking care around plantings and native vegetation. 23 eels were trapped and relocated while the work was being done. After the clean-up was completed, the outfall pipes were blocked, and the wetland water levels returned to their original depth.

Before the wetland clean up work.

After the wetland clean up work.

Auckland Council Fund

Thanks to our ongoing partnership with Auckland Council, we have been able to continue to provide support to covenantors in the Auckland region to help with stewardship in their QEII covenants.

Trap line upgrade in Whangapiro

North of Auckland, one of our covenantors, Tim Main, received a grant in the third round of the Auckland Council Fund in 2022 to extend and complete a trap line through his Whangapiro covenant.

Tim worked with a contractor to complete the trap line and install new possum and rat traps between November 2022 and January 2023. The completed trap line extends approximately 3.5 km and has maximised the reach for pest control within the covenant to up to 70 hectares. Its establishment also means that checking traps and monitoring the covenant will now be easier. This work builds on predator control introduced and supported by The Forest Bridge Trust in other areas of the covenant.

Reducing pest numbers will also help protect and enhance habitat for the small population of Hochstetter’s frog (Leiopelma hochstetteri, At Risk–Declining) found in the covenant and will help to accelerate the reintroduction of kiwi into the bush.

Tim with the new traps inside his covenant.

Photo credit: Chris Floyd