Waipoua Forest possums to be fed 30 tonnes of 1080 poison

By Mike Barrington The Department of Conservation plans to spread 30 tonnes of 1080 poison by helicopter over Waipoua Forest to kill possums and rats.
The $200,000 project got under way with an airdrop of non-toxic cereal pellets at the weekend to familiarise the pests with the bait which will contain the poison.
The 1080 needs to be applied 5-14 days after this prefeeding, so the 1080 airdrop is expected to begin some time between tomorrow and October 9.
"We need a window of fine weather to do it, so we are now waiting for the toxic bait to arrive and watching the long-range weather forecasts," DOC's Waipoua manager, Tim Brandenburg, said yesterday.
The two-day 1080 drop will cover about 10,000ha of the Waipoua Forest conservation area north of the Waipoua River on the western side of State Highway 12 and up to Tutamoe on the eastern side of the highway.
Waipoua is the country's largest kauri forest and is a northern stronghold for birds such as kiwi and kokako. The forest has many large rata and numerous threatened plants at risk from possums and rats.
About 100 tonnes of 1080 airdropped over the forest in 1990 decimated pests, but numbers have since increased despite poisoning by contractors on the ground and DOC officials now want another big kill.
"The weather is fickle at this time of the year, but we're doing it (the 1080 drop) this spring, rather than waiting for dry summer weather, because birds are nesting now and we want to reduce the pests so the birds have a good breeding season," Mr Brandenburg said.
Some residents in the area are opposed to the 1080 airdrop and a petition was circulating calling for its cancellation.
One woman told the Northern Advocate the $200,000 would be better spent providing pest control jobs for unemployed people. A man who did not want to be named said 1080 impacted on the whole forest food chain, killing insects, kauri snails, kiwi and other birds, plus hawks and pigs which ate poisoned possums.
But Mr Brandenburg said preparations for the 1080 airdrop had taken a year and had included obtaining a resource consent from the Northland Regional Council and scrutiny by the Northland medical officer of heath, Dr Jonathan Jarman.
"Local iwi and the community were consulted and have given support, and we have conditions imposed on the toxic bait drop to comply with public health issues," Mr Brandenburg said.
Contamination of household water supplies was a big concern and DOC had to follow strict rules to keep 1080 out of buffer zones around household water sources.
Helicopters would use GPS satellite navigation to drop the poison and DOC staff would patrol boundaries to make sure the 1080 fell in the right places. Water sampling would also take place after the airdrop to ensure it complied with public safety conditions.
Asked how many possums the 1080 was expected to kill, Mr Brandenburg said no numbers were available. Trapping after the airdrop would enable DOC to calculate a residual percentage of possums remaining.
"Below 10 percent the forest recovers, but some species of birds need it to be below five percent," he said.
Warning signs will be posted and the Waipoua Forest will be closed to the public after the airdrop until further notice.