Search

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.”

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.

Four ambitious conservation projects in Canterbury have received $137,000 in support from the DOC Community Fund, Conservation Ministers Maggie Barry and Nicky Wagner have announced.

The projects range from wilding conifer control to protecting and promoting indigenous vegetation, the Ministers say.

“Each of the groups is playing an important role in eliminating weeds and restoring biodiversity in the Canterbury region,” Ms Barry says.

Conservation work in Northland has received a major investment of $400,000 from the DOC Community Fund, announced today by Conservation Minister Maggie Barry.

Four groups will receive funding for community conservation work that contributes to the War on Weeds and Predator Free 2050.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry and Associate Primary Industries Minister Louise Upston say projects to help kokako in Bay of Plenty have been given more than $125,000 from the DOC Community Fund.

“Rotoehu Forest is home to 150 North Island kōkako (Callaeas wilsoni) but has the space to support at least 500 birds. Over three years, three groups will work together to carry out a combination of pest control, wilding pine removal and other weed control,” Ms Barry says.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry says DOC has completed the first stage of a 3-year programme to upgrade tracks in kauri forests to help prevent the spread of kauri dieback.

Twenty-six high priority tracks in the Bay of Islands, Kauri Coast, Whangarei, Auckland, Coromandel, Tauranga and Waikato regions were upgraded.

“The 56 kilometres of track were improved to reduce wet and muddy areas where there is a risk of track users spreading kauri dieback spores in mud on their footwear,” Ms Barry says. 

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has announced a major expansion of predator control work in Northland’s precious native forests.

“Controlling predators is vital if the forests are going to be safe for native birds like the kiwi, kokako, kakariki and rifleman to breed and thrive,” Ms Barry says.

“The expansion is part of a nationwide ramping up of predator control as part of ‘Battle for our Birds’ and is a key priority as we move towards our goal of a predator free New Zealand by 2050.

Four ambitious conservation projects in Otago have received $263,000 in support from the DOC Community Fund, Conservation Ministers Maggie Barry and Nicky Wagner have announced.

The projects range from restoring wetland of ecological value to eradicating pests, the Ministers say.

“Each of the groups is playing an important role in protecting threatened bird species and enhancing ecosystems around the Otago Peninsula,” Ms Barry says.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has congratulated and welcomed Scott Simpson in his new role as Parliamentary Private Secretary on conservation and environmental matters.

“It is great to have Scott recognised in a more formal role and he will be a real asset as a committed and knowledgeable conservationist. In his role as the highly competent chair of the Environment and Local Government Select committee I have worked closely with Scott on a number of key projects and legislation,” Ms Barry says.