War on pests mapped out

• Published date: 25 May 2023
• Publication title: Katikati Advertiser

More than 30,500 pests have been recorded as being caught across the 160,800ha that have traps and bait stations, providing GPS data to map and measure success

Bay of Plenty Regional Council has been working alongside Tauranga City Council, Western Bay of Plenty District Council, Predator Free Bay of Plenty, Enviro Hub, Bay Conservation Alliance, Manaaki Kaimai Mamaku Trust and Department of Conservation to get to the Government goal of making New Zealand predator free by 2050.

The Predator Free 2050 vision is focused on the complete removal of the five most damaging predators — rats, stoats, ferrets, weasels, and possums.

Manaaki Kaimai Mamaku Trust chief executive Louise Saunders says it has been a long-standing mission of the community to restore the mauri of the Kaimai Mamaku area.

She says, with the power of technology, it is now possible to measure pest control progress in real time.

“This map is inspirational and demonstrates how committed the Western Bay of Plenty community is to restoring biodiversity.

“Monitoring is crucial to ensuring our actions are contributing positively to the mission, and now we can see exactly where the gaps are and work together to fill them.”

Predator Free Bay of Plenty set a goal in 2018 to get a backyard trap into one in five houses in suburban Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty. Chief...