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The invasive pest great white butterfly has been eradicated from New Zealand in a world-first achievement, Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy and Conservation Minister Maggie Barry say.

“This is the first eradication of an unwanted butterfly population in the world and is another impressive example of New Zealand’s innovation and skill in removing pests,” Ms Barry says.

Great white butterflies posed a major threat to native plant species and primary sector economy.

Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry will travel to Antarctica tomorrow to visit Scott Base and the historic explorer’s huts in the Ross Dependency.

Ms Barry travels as a guest of the Antarctic Heritage Trust and will be accompanied by chair Mark Stewart, executive director Nigel Watson and Paul James, chief executive of the Ministry for Culture & Heritage.

The effort to stop invasive wilding conifers from choking the Kaimanawa ranges has received a major funding boost, Land Information Minister Louise Upston and Conservation Minister Maggie Barry have announced.

“The Government is investing an additional $538,000 in control work in the Kaimanawa ranges this year, as part of the $16m it is investing nationally to control wilding conifers over the next four years,” Ms Upston says. 

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has congratulated the winners of this year’s Conservation Innovation Awards, to be presented in Wellington tonight.

An app to identify kauri dieback, a bird location drone and a water monitoring device are the latest winners of WWF-New Zealand awards, now in their third year.

“These awards celebrate exciting developments in conservation by creative people dedicated to the cause of protecting our nature,” Ms Barry says.

The fight against wilding conifers in two iconic high country areas of the South Island has received a major funding boost, Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy and Conservation Minister Maggie Barry have announced.

Work to control the spread of wildings in the Molesworth area of Marlborough and the Amuri block in North Canterbury will receive an additional $730,000 in Crown funding from Budget 2016.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry says the official launch of the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy (QCC) initiative in New Zealand adds impetus to efforts to protect the nation’s native forest.

Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy and Ms Barry celebrated the registration of the first QCC covenant established in New Zealand at Mt Lyford Lodge in Canterbury today.

In partnership with the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust, farmers Sue and Peter Turnbull have covenanted 392 hectares of high-value land at Mt Terako, in the Seaward Kaikoura range.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has welcomed the second reading of a bill to modernise and strengthen DOC rangers’ ability to protect native wildlife from poaching and smuggling.

The Wildlife (Powers) Amendment Bill passed its second reading in Parliament this morning.

Two community trusts working to protect Great Barrier Island’s nature from predators and weeds have received a $108,000 funding boost, Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has announced.

On a visit to the Glenfern Sanctuary on the island today Ms Barry announced the Kotuku Peninsula and Windy Hill Rosalie Bay Catchment Trusts will be the first groups to benefit from this year’s $4.5 million round of DOC Community Fund grants.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has officially opened the new DOC base on Great Barrier Island, rebuilt and redeveloped following damage in the June 2014 cyclone.

“The base at Okiwi is a modern, fit-for purpose facility which will mean DOC staff have the support they need to maintain Great Barrier’s unique environment and wilderness experiences,” Ms Barry says.

In total redevelopment and expansion of the Okiwi base has cost $1.5 million, with construction completed in August.

A new estimate of Māui dolphin numbers is encouraging for the future of the species, Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy and Conservation Minister Maggie Barry say.

The preliminary results of a comprehensive scientific survey carried out over the last two summers has estimated the population of the critically endangered dolphin at approximately 63 adults, with 95% confidence there are between 57 and 75.

This represents an increase from a 2010-11 survey which estimated the number of adults at 55, with 95% confidence there were between 48 and 69.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has congratulated DOC staff involved in the successful eradication of mice from Maud Island in the Cook Strait.

“It’s now two years since a mouse was found on Maud Island and we’re able to declare it a pest-free sanctuary, as it was from the 1970s until 2013,” Ms Barry says.

Mice were discovered on the island in 2013. DOC workers carried out an eradication operation with brodifacoum poison over the following winter.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has encouraged New Zealanders to get outside and enjoy our special places this Mental Health Awareness Week.

“The theme of Mental Health Awareness Week this year is Connect with Nature for health and wellbeing, and there’s nowhere better to do that than on our conservation lands,” Ms Barry says.

Through its Healthy Nature, Healthy People programme DOC is working with the Mental Health Foundation to encourage people to spend more time in nature.

A new plan to raise wild kiwi numbers to more than 100,000 by 2030 has been released today by Conservation Minister Maggie Barry.

The draft Kiwi Recovery Plan 2017-2027 will be open for feedback from iwi partners and other stakeholders, including conservation groups, and sets a clear path forward for the conservation of New Zealand’s national bird.

“We are committed to delivering this ambitious and forward-thinking new strategy as part of the Government’s $11.2 million Budget 2015 investment in kiwi conservation,” Ms Barry says.

The announcement of four major founding partners for Project Taranaki Mounga is a significant step on the road towards a Predator Free New Zealand, Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce and Conservation Minister Maggie Barry say.

The Ministers announced the new support for the $24 million project, which will have substantial conservation and economic benefits for Taranaki, at a ceremony in New Plymouth today.

Wellington’s ambitious plan to become the first predator-free city in the country has been welcomed by Conservation Minister Maggie Barry.

With support from the NEXT Foundation, Wellington City Council and Greater Wellington Regional Council have committed to eradicating rats, stoats and possums from the city, tying in with the Government’s Predator Free 2050 goal announced earlier this year.

Associate Conservation Minister Nicky Wagner has welcomed the acquisition of a significant area of forest on the West Coast. 

“The Nature Heritage Fund has acquired the 152 ha of lowland podocarp/beech forest in the Buller District on the West Coast on behalf of the Crown. The forest sits on fertile limestone alluvium between Ruff Creek and Yorke Creek on the eastern flank of the Paparoa Range. This is now a rare forest type due to clearance for agriculture,” Ms Wagner says.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry is travelling to the United States to lead New Zealand’s delegation to the 2016 Our Ocean conference in Washington DC.

A global summit hosted by United States Secretary of State John Kerry from 14-16 September, Our Ocean addresses major issues in marine protection such as climate change, ocean acidification and sustainable fishing.

New Zealand’s commitment to be predator free by 2050 has received global acclaim at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s World Congress in Hawaii, Conservation Minister Maggie Barry says.

As part of the Congress, the IUCN’s Species Survival Commission launched the Honolulu Challenge, urging nations to do more to combat the threat of invasive species to protect biodiversity and enhance human wellbeing.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has welcomed a new partnership between DOC and Kiwibank which will contribute towards New Zealand’s goal of becoming predator free by 2050.

The partnership announced today focuses on DOC’s conservation dog programme and the remarkable canines using their unique noses to tackle predators and help our native species.

“Specially-trained dogs are truly one of conservation’s best friends, and they will play a crucial role in our plans to make New Zealand predator free by 2050,” Ms Barry says.

Conservation Week 2016 begins on Saturday and is an opportunity for New Zealanders to enjoy the outdoors and discover our natural heritage, Conservation Ministers Maggie Barry and Nicky Wagner say.

“This year’s theme is again focused on Healthy Nature, Healthy People, and it’s all about the health and wellbeing benefits we get from the natural world,” Ms Barry says.

A new contract to support Enviroschools for the next six years and a new Strategy for Environmental Education for Sustainability were announced today by Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith and Associate Minister of Conservation Nicky Wagner.

“Education is a powerful, long-term tool for improving how we care for the environment. If people feel connected to nature and understand the problems of species loss, water pollution, waste and climate change, they will make better choices during their lifetime,” Dr Smith says.

The historic site of one of the largest battles of the New Zealand Wars has been returned to iwi ownership as part of the 10th anniversary Koroneihana celebrations for Kiingi Tuheitia.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry formally presented Kiingi Tuheitia with the deed of vesting for Rangiriri Pa and the adjacent Te Wheoro Redoubt historic reserves at a ceremony in Ngaruawahia today.

“Both the pa and redoubt are sites of immense significance for Waikato-Tainui and our shared history as New Zealanders,” Ms Barry says.

The young orca which became separated from its pod in Tauranga Harbour has died, Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has confirmed.

“Sadly the calf lost its battle overnight despite the best efforts of a team of rescuers,” Ms Barry says.

“I send my sympathies and commiserations to the many people who have worked exhaustively over the last week to try to save the young whale. It was an effort made in the best spirit of cooperation and conservation of the natural world.”

Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy and Conservation Minister Maggie Barry have welcomed a new survey showing the number of Hector’s dolphin is higher than previously estimated.

“A three year survey commissioned by the Minister for Primary Industries indicates the population of Hector’s dolphin is about 15,000 – this is up from previous estimates of around 7,000,” says Mr Guy.