Submission
from: The Great Barrier island Charitable Trust
On: Kiwi
Recovery Plan 2006-2016 – Discussion Document
THE
ADVANTAGES of Great Barrier Island as a Kiwi Sanctuary:
1. The
absence of Mustelids and Possums.
2. The
presence of extensive areas of suitable habitat over a range of
elevations on Hirikimata and elsewhere.
3. The strong
likelihood of Iwi support and active cooperation.
4. The
existing infra-structure: the Department of Conservation (DoC) already
manages c. 60% of the island.
5. The
growing and strong terrestrial conservation ethic within the local
community.
6. The
presence of supportive community organizations (eg. GBIT, Little Windy
Hill-Rosalie Bay Trust, Glenfern Sanctuary, Biocare Aotea Ltd., Awana
Catchment Trust) currently employing people on pest control and working
actively for habitat restoration.
7. The
possibility of controlling dogs through council by-laws. There is
already a requirement for bird-aversion training. Auckland City and
Regional Councils are supportive of biosecurity control on Great Barrier
Island.
Disadvantages:
1. The
presence of some endangered species (skinks) which might be
detrimentally influenced by kiwi.
2. The lack
of evidence that Kiwi were present during historic times.
Discussion of
advantages and disadvantages
The absence
of significant predators (Mustelids) and the possibility of controlling
cats and dogs provides a unique opportunity for the Dept. of
Conservation to create a new Kiwi Reserve on Great Barrier Island. The
Department itself manages some of the prime potential kiwi habitat on Mt
Hirakimata. The Little Windy Hill and Glenfern Sanctuary areas also
contain potential kiwi habitat, which could be intensively managed by
the relevant community groups. Kaikoura Island, recently acquired by DoC,
might also be considered. The geographical separation of these areas
provides possibilities for introducing kiwi from different populations
and/or other experimental manipulations. The effectiveness of community
groups in managing such projects is already proven.
The
vegetation of extensive areas is suitable for brown kiwi, which are
quite adaptable. Even the drier manuka-kanuka scrub, which covers ridges
formerly covered by kauri or broadleaf forest, is rapidly reverting to
tall forest. Swamps and damp gullies provide moist soils throughout. A
description of the altitudinal sequence of forest types (with
photographs) can be found in Armitage (2001) Chapter 4. Although some
species present in the Moehau kiwi sanctuary are absent from Great
Barrier, the main canopy, sub-canopy and ground-cover species are the
same, providing very similar plant communities and potential kiwi
habitat.
The above
considerations imply that the Department of Conservation estate, and the
private conservation properties on Great Barrier Island could fulfil the
proposed new Recovery Plan goal of "maintaining all kiwi species and
sub-species as functioning parts of extensive protected ecosystems".
This aligns also with the New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy (2000),
which under Objective 1.5, implies that viable kiwi populations should
be established to enhance distributional ranges and maintain populations
in ecosytems important for indigenous biodiversity. In view of this (at
least in the first instance,) introductions to the significant montane
habitats on Great Barrier should be confined to brown kiwi (Apteryx
australis sensu lato).
Ecotourism
appears to be the most significant future development on Great Barrier
Island (see recent reports by Centre for Research, Evaluation and Social
Assessment (CRESA). Of the results in so far (from 125 off-island
property owners) the most frequently identified valuable feature of the
island was given as "the natural environment". The GBIT is working to
promote the vision of a pest-free island attracting national and
international visitors with an interest in the unique biotic and
cultural heritage of New Zealand. As the country’s icon, the presence of
kiwi would enhance that vision and further the cause of conservation. If
the island was actively promoted as a kiwi refuge the community would
readily support this because they would see the potential economic
advantages through increased tourism. The island could become the most
accessible wild kiwi population close to Auckland.
The presence
of chevron skink on Great Barrier Island might be seen as a
disadvantage. It would be interesting to experiment with the
interactions between these two species, perhaps at the Auckland Zoo,
prior to any extensive release on Great Barrier. However, the large size
of Great Barrier would ensure that any negative kiwi-skink interactions
would not be immediate and could be relatively easily monitored and
managed. The lack of evidence for the former presence of kiwi is a
purely esoteric consideration, and might be seen as an advantage rather
than the opposite. However, kiwi were presumably present during the last
glacial (22 – 10 thousand years ago) when sea-level was much lower and
the birds could have walked to Rosalie Bay from Te Moehau. There is a
local Iwi tradition that kiwi were formerly present. Leg bones (and
gizzard stones) of Moa have been found on the island in association with
an early Maori habitation site.
Summary
The
advantages of Great Barrier Island as a kiwi refuge in future far
outweigh any possible disadvantages. The main advantages are (1) absence
of Mustelids, (2) presence of extensive areas of suitable habitat, and
(3) an existing supportive infra-structure. The latter comprises the
Department of Conservation, the Auckland City and Regional Councils and
several active community groups. The future benefit to the local
community through ecotourism would ensure strong community support.
John Ogden
