Russell Forest 1080 operation hailed a success

Aerial photo of Russell Forest immediately before the 1080 drop. Photo / Dean Wright

Forest & Bird says the results of an aerial 1080 operation in Northland's Russell Forest shows how effective the tool is in knocking down the predators that kill native wildlife and cause native forest collapse.

Department of Conservation figures show that following the September operation, rats in Russell Forest have dropped from around 76 per cent to less than 1 per cent. Possums were at 79 per cent and are now at around 16 per cent.

"This spring, native birds have finally been able to to nest in peace, and instead of rats and possums feasting on the flowers and leaves of native trees – native birds, insects and lizards have benefited instead," says Forest & Bird's Northland Conservation Advocate Dean Baigent-Mercer.

Baigent-Mercer said only aerial 1080 could have achieved these dramatic results.

Aerial photo of Russell Forest immediately before the 1080 drop. Photo / Dean Wright

"Two helicopters worked together to scatter 1080 baits across 6000 hectares of rugged Russell Forest. It took less than five hours. To cut tracks close enough to carry out effective pest control targeting rats, possums, stoats, weasels and feral cats would take years, especially since this forest has kauri dieback present."

Forest & Bird said it had worked for years to highlight the collapse of Russell Forest, releasing drone footage in 2015 to show the extent of the damage.

"When we filmed Russell Forest from a helicopter just prior to the 1080 operation, the place was devastated, with tōtara, pohutukawa, northern rātā and pūriri dying on a large scale."

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"Because the forest is so damaged, with very low bird numbers, it will take some years to see an impressive recovery, but this is a significant start."

Between 1979-93 wildlife surveys showed an 80 per cent decline in kūkupa (kererū) numbers in Russell Forest.

"At the time of the operation, vandals drained 2000 litres of aviation fuel into the earth and attacked pest control equipment. Despite the sabotage attempt, the operation went really well and we can now see the successful results."

Baigent-Mercer said it was the largest pest control operation the forest had seen in decades. Some of the forest received aerial 1080 in 1995 but since then pest control work had been small in scale compared to the size of the forest.

"Tragically, most of Whangaroa Forest continues to collapse after the postponement of an aerial 1080 operation this year. All Northland native forests without comprehensive pest control have been collapsing for decades."

Rākaumangamanga/Cape Brett, located in the Bay of Islands, was also included in the September 1080 operation and had achieved similarly successful results.

Pre-operation monitoring showed 14 per cent rats, 17 per cent mice and 34.3 per cent possums, compared to 0 per cent rats, 0 per cent mice and 4 per cent possums following the spring aerial 1080 operation.