Predator free by 2050 on target

Conservation minister Maggie Barry said DOC has set up a team of 9 Predator Free Community Rangers to help with the Predator Free 2050 project, which had its year anniversary on Tuesday.Photo/file.

Tuesday marked the first year of the Government's plan to eradicate possums, rats and stoats from the country by 2050.

Conservation minister Maggie Barry said Predator Free 2050 was making good progress and the Department of Conservation had since set up a team of nine Predator Free Community Rangers backed with a contestable fund of $300,000.

The lower North Island ranger will be monitoring and working on predator control in Hawke's Bay alongside the current six pest control rangers in the region.

Ms Barry said this project would secure our native species from the threat of extinction and safeguard them for future generations.

Predator Free 2050 Ltd, will also direct $28 million of initial funding into large-scale landscape predator control projects and scientific research.

DOC ranger Jim Flack said that the nine DOC rangers around New Zealand, one for each region, will help communities scale up and coordinate their predator-free efforts.

"The Predator Free Rangers will help get community-based initiatives started, provide advice on trapping strategies and trap libraries, and help communities access DOC knowledge and rangers."

Mr Flack said all community efforts from backyard trapping to large group projects were welcome in the fight against invasive predators.

"Collaboration will be the key to achieving the Predator Free 2050 goal - it can only be done with the support of the community," Mr Flack said.

Predator control under Poutiri Ao o Tane and Cape to City will continue with increased effort working collaboratively with whanau, hapu and iwi, community partners and volunteer groups.

A Predator Free 2050 online community toolkit will also be launched in the coming weeks.

Ms Barry said in the past year they had seen "tremendous" enthusiasm and support for the goal with more communities signing up to work with DOC on predator control.

"We've built a national movement dedicated to achieving our objective - one which is receiving international interest."

On Tuesday Ms Barry returned to Zealandia to show British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson what New Zealand used to look and sound like before the arrival of introduced vermin.

"The Foreign Secretary congratulated New Zealand on our 'campaign of slaughter' and said many people did not grasp the threat to our birds, insects and reptiles posed by introduced mammals," Ms Barry said.

In addition to the scheme, three multi-year research projects have received $1.24m support from the first round of the DOC-managed Tools to Market fund, which helps develop promising predator control science into operational tools.

"This is just the start of a long road, but if we work together we can achieve something once thought impossible. The Government backs New Zealanders to do it," Ms Barry said.