Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has issued a “call to action” for the nation to get behind efforts to protect New Zealand’s threatened native plants and animals.

Minister Barry launched the Department of Conservation’s draft Threatened Species Strategy at the Threatened Species Summit in Wellington this morning.

“Our unique plants and animals are found nowhere else on earth and help to define who we are as New Zealanders, adding immeasurable value to our culture, our identity and our landscapes,” Minister Barry says.

The Government is to invest $2.8 million over the next four years on a new strategy to manage threats to New Zealand sea lions.

Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy and Conservation Minister Maggie Barry have today announced a significant funding increase to ensure a comprehensive New Zealand Sea Lion Threat Management Plan at the Threatened Species Summit in Wellington.

Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy and Conservation Minister Maggie Barry say wilding pines control work has nearly reached its first year target of a million hectares.

“20 per cent of New Zealand will be covered in unwanted wilding conifers within 20 years if their spread isn't stopped. They already cover more than 1.8 million hectares of New Zealand and until now have been spreading at about 5 per cent a year,” Mr Guy says.

Entries to the 27th annual Green Ribbon Awards are set to close next Wednesday and all unsung environment and conservation heroes are being encouraged to step forward.

“We’ve had some fantastic entries so far. It’s inspiring to hear so many exceptional stories of environment and conservation initiatives being undertaken across the country,” Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith says.

The Green Ribbon Awards are held annually to recognise outstanding contributions by individuals, communities and organisations to protect and manage the environment.

A biosecurity response is underway after the detection of myrtle rust on mainland New Zealand for the first time, Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy and Conservation Minister Maggie Barry have announced today.

Myrtle rust is a fungal disease which can seriously damage various species of native and introduced plants in the myrtle family, including pohutukawa, rata, manuka, gum, bottlebrush and feijoa.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry and Associate Conservation Minister Nicky Wagner have announced a major upgrade and extension to the trap network in Canterbury to protect the critically endangered orange-fronted parakeet.

“This bird is the rarest of our five parakeet species, with the population between 200 and 400, so we installed 500 self-resetting traps in Lake Sumner Forest Park last week as part of DOC’s Battle for our Birds programme,” Ms Barry says.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry says 11 of New Zealand’s rarest kiwi have been returned home to the Haast Kiwi Sanctuary today.

“These young tokoeka kiwi were removed from Haast before they hatched and taken to the West Coast Wildlife Centre. The young chicks were then moved to Orokonui Ecosanctuary or Willowbank Wildlife Sanctuary to learn to forage before being moved to Predator Free Rona Island,” Ms Barry says.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has welcomed the release of 36 North Island Robin onto Mount Taranaki today.

“The release heralds the return of a species not seen or heard on the Mounga for more than 110 years and is the first of many species to be reintroduced there,” Ms Barry says.

“Local schools and businesses have been farming mealworms to feed to the robin  to encourage them to stay in the protected zone and it’s heartening to see the support the project is getting.”

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry says successful breeding results for several of our most vulnerable native birds come as a result of using 1080 to kill predators.

“New results from a five-year study of South Island kākā nesting at Lake Paringa in South Westland show 30 times as many kākā chicks were produced and survived in the area after 1080 treatment to control stoats and possums compared to the area where no 1080 was used,” Ms Barry says.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has announced the temporary closure from today of the track leading to Tāne Mahuta, to install a footwear cleaning station as extra protection against kauri dieback for New Zealand’s largest kauri.

“Kauri dieback is the single biggest threat kauri have ever faced. It slowly starves a tree to death, infecting the roots and destroying tissues that carry water and nutrients,” Ms Barry says.

Nominations for the 27th annual Green Ribbon Awards are now open, giving New Zealanders the chance to honour our environmental leaders, Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith and Conservation Minister Maggie Barry say.

“These prestigious awards recognise outstanding contributions by individuals, communities and organisations to protect and enhance the environment. Previous years have showcased an impressive array of initiatives making a difference to our natural assets and wildlife,” Dr Smith says.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry congratulates the Department of Conservation (DOC) on its 30th birthday and three decades of protecting our natural heritage.

“DOC can be rightly proud of its many achievements and successes with vulnerable species since April 1 1987. The recovery of the kakapo from the brink of extinction is one example.  Numbers have gone from 50 birds in the early 1990s to now beyond 150, including a record breeding season this past year,” Ms Barry says.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry congratulates DOC’s Takahē Recovery Programme, Ngāi Tahu and Fulton Hogan, who are celebrating the best ever breeding season for the critically endangered takahē.

“For the third year running chicks have been produced in record numbers, both in the wild and predator-controlled sanctuaries. 50 takahē juveniles were produced this year across the captive breeding population and a further 16 birds by the wild population in the Murchison Mountains,” Ms Barry says.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry says DOC is on the brink of eradicating the invasive weed Spartina in the Marlborough Sounds and Golden Bay.

“Spartina, one of the Dirty Dozen weeds targeted in the War on Weeds 2017, clogs waterways. It’s a prime example of an introduced plant brought in to reclaim land for grazing that has run rampant and is badly affecting waterways,” Ms Barry says.

“It’s changed the natural flows of rivers and tidal channels and impacted shellfish, fish and wading birds.”

Associate Minister of Conservation, Hon Peter Dunne, welcomed the launch of the Mountain Safety Council's report into Hunter-Safety called A Hunter’s Tale yesterday.

“As I have previously said, this report represents a significant moment in our country’s collective understanding of the nature, scale and risks of hunting in New Zealand,” said Mr Dunne. 

"The report comes after a rigorous collection and analysis of data to produce a first-of-its kind snapshot of the current context hunters in New Zealand live in.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry says Dunedin has accelerated its commitment to the Government’s Predator Free 2050 vision with 19 organisations signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today.

Prime Minister Bill English and Ms Barry joined signatories to the MOU at the Orokonui Sanctuary today to celebrate the Predator Free Dunedin initiative.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has welcomed a new predator-free initiative signed today which includes trapping in and around hundreds of holiday parks.

The partnership between the Predator Free NZ Trust and the Holiday Parks Association of New Zealand (HAPNZ) will help in the battle to make New Zealand predator-free by 2050.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry today praised a new eradication campaign, ‘Wasp Wipeout’, which is removing pest wasps from the Nelson-Tasman region this summer.

The Department of Conservation, Fairfax Media and the Tasman Environment Trust launched the campaign in December, and Ms Barry visited the Nelson Lakes area today to bait a trap and see first-hand how effective the ‘Wasp Wipeout’ has been.

The Government has released its conservation and environment science priorities for the next 20 years in a new Roadmap, Conservation and lead Minister Maggie Barry and Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith announced today at the annual Bluegreens Forum.

“We need to be certain that we have the best research and evidence available to help us protect and save our threatened bird and plant life and for all New Zealand to achieve important Government targets such as Predator Free  2050,” Ms Barry says.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry is leading a delegation to the subantarctic islands today to experience and observe first-hand the vital conservation and research work being carried out there.

“The Auckland Islands are the largest of our subantarctic islands. They have unique and valuable ecosystems which support a range of species found nowhere else in the world,” Ms Barry says.

Boards of Inquiry have been appointed to decide on two significant Auckland roading projects in a move which will get a decision by the end of the year, Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith and Conservation Minister Maggie Barry announced today.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has thanked DOC staff and volunteers helping to re-float pilot whales after a mass stranding at Farewell spit overnight.

“More than 400 pilot whales stranded overnight in one of the largest recorded mass strandings in New Zealand history. Sadly it has been confirmed most have died. DOC staff and volunteers re-floated about 100 on this morning’s high tide but unfortunately 50 of them have since re-stranded,” Ms Barry says.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has welcomed the successful passing of the Wildlife (Powers) Amendment Bill’s third reading in Parliament this evening.

The bill modernises and strengthens DOC rangers' existing powers to protect native wildlife from poaching and smuggling.

“This legislation is an important part of upgrading DOC’s ability to prevent and prosecute crimes against vulnerable native species such as geckoes and skinks,” Ms Barry says.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has welcomed plans by the Kiwis for Kiwi Trust to boost the number of kiwi chicks captured in the wild for later release in to predator free habitats.

“Through Operation Nest Egg the Trust will use kiwi crèches or kōhanga kiwi sites to raise chicks to 1 kilogram in weight so they are big enough to fend for themselves in the wild,” Ms Barry says.