1080 being dropped to wipe out predators in the Raukūmara

The Raukūmara Pae Maunga restoration project is working hard this year to complete 1080 applications. Picture by Matai O’Connor

Raukūmara Pae Maunga restoration project has started the year with a pre-feed application which sets the stage for a 1080 drop.

Raukūmara Pae Maunga is the largest indigenous conservation project in the world. It is led by East Coast iwi Ngati Porou and Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, partnered with Te Papa Atawhai Department of Conservation (DoC)  and received funding of $34 million in 2020 from the Jobs for Nature Programme.

The Raukūmara is home to rare species such as kāka, kiwi, whio, pekapeka/bats and the Hochstetter’s frog, but in the past few decades  populations of these  have been devastated by stoats, rats and possums.

Raukūmara Pae Maunga Ngati Porou communications and engagement manager Ario Rewi said they have hit the ground running after ending 2023 on a positive by applying 1080 over 40,000 hectares.

More than 120,000 hectares of ngahere (forest) in the Raukūmara Ranges will have the 1080 pest control toxin dropped on it.

On Friday the team were able to apply pre-feed over block 2C which is roughly 28,000 hectares. This prepares the area for 1080 by having the pests and predators eat the pre-feed, which looks, smells and tastes like 1080 but contains none of the toxin.

The 1080 application on the Raukūmara side near Waikura Valley had gone well, Ms Rewi said.

There had been no reports of dog fatalities and no reports of possum carcases entering waterways. This has been attributed to the community working with the group as well as better buffer systems to help during the application.

Ms Rewi said that from each application they were learning and amending their strategies about communicating and applying 1080.

“No application comes without its challenges, whether it be people, resources, access or weather.”

Over the year, they have had to change the block sizes. It was originally just blocks 1, 2 and 3, but now there is block 2a and 2b and then block 3.

“In order to apply pre-feed or 1080, you need a really good weather window. You need 48-72 hours where there is no wind, or cloud, or 10mm of rain predicted to fall following an application.

“In Tairāwhiti it has been hard to get that weather window so we have had to amend the areas where we drop.”

With 1080 application, there is a requirement to communicate when the drops are happening and the Raukūmara Pae Maunga team share information around the regions about 1080.

The poison 1080 is a copy of sodium fluoroacetate — a naturally-occurring compound found in plants. Some plants, including puha, produce it to deter animals from eating them.

Research shows the longest time elements of 1080 can stay in a plant is around 38 days. It is biodegradable which means it breaks down naturally in the environment.

The Ministry of Health has set a stringent guideline that 1080 can only be present at levels below two parts per billion. These are extremely low levels — an adult weighing 70kg would have to drink 70,000 litres (or 230 full baths) in one go to receive a fatal dose.

Ms Rewi said they accept that 1080 is a tool they are using but it is not an “us versus them” kaupapa as she herself and many on the team are from Ngati Porou, live in the communities near the Raukūmara and are wanting to restore forest to what it was like before pests showed up.

“We are doing everything that we can do to save and protect it. We are applying it for the Raukūmara, not for ourselves. We won’t see the fruition of this mahi in our lifetime. It’s for the ngahere and the future of our environment.

Ms Rewi said dealing with people’s fears around 1080 was big mahi but they deal with it head on and share facts about what they are doing and aiming to achieve.

“We not only want to restore the Raukūmara but also our relationships with the natural environment and with each other.”