Feral goat eradication in the Kaimai conservation park is the latest environmental initiative driven by Manaaki Kaimai Mamaku Trust, now made possible with funding from the central government.
CEO of Manaaki Kaimai Mamaku Trust, Louise Saunders, says it's crucial we move from control to eradication.
“Feral goats wreak havoc wherever they go. They eat understorey which stops forest regeneration, they have the potential to spread kauri dieback disease and they eat grass at record speeds, severely impacting farm productivity,” she says.
The central government today has announced $750,000 of funding from the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy to begin the eradication programme, although more funding is needed.
The total six year programme (approximately three years of eradication and an additional three years of surveillance) is estimated to cost more than $1.5M.
“Feral goats have been controlled in the area since the 1940s with around $10M being spent to keep them at a controlled level. $1.5M for a six year programme is a drop in the bucket, if we can remove them completely,” Saunders says.
This eradication programme has been years in the making, and made possible through the Joint Agency Partnership, established in 2020. Te Papa Atawhai Department of Conservation (DOC), Waikato Regional Council, Toi Moana Bay of Plenty Regional Council and Manaaki Kaimai Mamaku Trust administer an Environmental Programme contract, pooling financial resources and working together on conservation efforts in the 260,000 hectare Kaimai Mamaku Restoration Project area.
“The longstanding partnership between the agencies, the social licence gained from on-the-ground project teams and initial funding secured through Tiakina Kauri has turbo-charged progress toward feral goat eradication,” Saunders says.
To kickstart the feral goat eradication programme, Manaaki Kaimai Mamaku Trust has completed an operational plan and budget, and Joint Agency funds allowed landowner engagement to be completed.
Toi Moana Bay of Plenty Regional Council Biosecurity Officer Juliet Brebner says the partnership has put us in a great position to build on the excellent work that has been done in the past.
“The ambitious goal of eradicating goats in the Kaimai Mamaku over a shorter time frame is a great step towards meeting our long-term goal of eradicating goats across the Western Bay of Plenty and Rotorua rohe by 2045,” Brebner says.
Feral goat eradication, rather than control, is not a new concept. Taranaki Mounga Project and DOC have eradicated goats from Te Papakura o Taranaki and the results of a thriving forest are already visible. Feral goat eradication has also been tried on the Auckland and Cuvier Islands and in the Hunua Ranges.
DOC Senior Ranger Brad Angus, who has managed the goat control contracts in the Kaimai Mamaku for many years, says partnering with other agencies and project groups ensures meaningful and large-scale biodiversity work can be completed at a faster pace.
“We’ve seen great success in partnering with local groups who know their rohe better than anyone. The Joint Agency Partnership supports the protection and enhancement of indigenous biodiversity across the motu, which we simply couldn’t do alone,” Angus says.
Since the Joint Agency Partnership was formally established, restoration and conservation work has significantly increased in the Kaimai Mamaku.
Along with a large array of community projects and initiatives, 10 iwi-hapū lead projects, initially funded through Jobs for Nature, have installed almost 7,500 hectares of additional pest animal control infrastructure. In the lead up to this programme, a number of tangata whenua ākonga (students) have gained their firearms licence and received training alongside expert cullers.
“The project teams are working tirelessly to restore the mauri of the Kaimai Mamaku. The agency partners and all other stakeholders understand that in order to do this, all activities must be under-pinned by a social licence that is generated through effective, local level, iwi-hapū and community engagement, awareness and a ‘flax-roots’ drive for action,” Saunders says.
Waikato Regional Council senior biodiversity officer Andrew Thomas is pleased with the recent funding announcement from the government.
“Browsing by ungulates, including feral goats, continues to undermine our collective efforts to restore the forests in the Kaimai and Mamaku Ranges. Removing feral goats is one of the many things we need to do to ensure these forests successfully recover.”
