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Volunteer and keen tramper Kevin Curd. Kevin Curd is a keen tramper and for more than 40 years he and his family have been discovering and rediscovering the wonders of our Mounga. For the last 20 years Kevin has been an active member of the New Plymouth Tramping Club. And until recently he was President. Kevin and many of the club’s 350 members have been volunteering their time on a number of projects for many years across Egmont National Park. This includes servicing traplines, helping with hut and track maintenance, volunteering as hut…continue reading →

Staff from Todd Energy enjoy the view in-between servicing their traplines. Natural gas company Todd Energy have taken the opportunity to support staff health and wellness by combining it with important restoration work on Egmont National Park. More than 40 staff from across their Kapuni, Mangahewa and New Plymouth sites have been servicing 60 stoat traps along two traplines along the enchanted Track on the Stratford Plateau and the Maketawa Track at North Egmont. Todd Energy Environmental Manager Nik Pyselman says staff participate in this activity during their work time and are enjoying…continue reading →

DOC Biodiversity Ranger Ellen Squire during whio monitoring. Conservation Dog Marti looks on. New Plymouth local and DOC Biodiversity Ranger Ellen Squire has been helping dozens of dedicated volunteers who service stoat traplines on Egmont National Park. Ellen was seconded to this role from her Community Ranger position six months ago. She’s loves working with individuals, families and businesses who are passionate about helping to restore the biodiversity of Mt Taranaki. “I enjoy providing opportunities for people to get involved in conservation,” says Ellen. “DOC does incredible work which I am privileged to…continue reading →

Byony Tubby Rodents and other pests are no match for Bryony Tubby from New Plymouth. Since October 2019 she has volunteered her time to manage a stoat trapline along the York Road boundary of Egmont National Park. Bryony’s trapline contains 18 stoat traps and takes about 3.5 hours to complete. It’s not a simple track either as Bryony crosses over a river and a dozen streams and traverses some tough terrain. But she enjoys every minute of it. “I really love it. On my way back from checking my traps I listen to…continue reading →

Conservation Dog Mart with two whio.PHOTO: Lyn Hassell A five-yearly whio (blue duck) census has confirmed the boom in the number of these endangered birds across Egmont National Park. With ongoing yearly monitoring and the 2015 whio census conducted on eight monitored rivers within the national park, a lot is already known about the increase of whio numbers in these areas. The 2020 whio census focused on whether these taonga are moving into previously uninhibited territories. As a result, 11 new rivers were surveyed by Department of Conservation (DOC) biodiversity rangers, their two…continue reading →

If there are less possums in our forests, does that mean there will be more rats? Many won’t be thinking about a question like this, but for third year University of Auckland PHD student Tess O’Malley (pictured), it is a topic she has been studying for over a year. In February 2019, Tess set up two 2.5 hectare research sites on Egmont National Park to understand the speed of recovery bounce back of rat populations after an aerial 1080 operation. One site is on the Kaitake Range, which has a very low possum…continue reading →

Tess O'Malley holds a possum with a GPS collar which tracks its movements. At night when we are sleeping, possums and other nocturnal animals are on the move. For the last 10 months, University of Auckland PHD student Tess O’Malley has been studying the behaviour of possums living in low population densities on and around the Kaitake Range and Pukeiti. Her work in Egmont National Park is a long way from Dunedin where her family live, and even further from Connecticut in the USA where Tess grew up.   Her research is already…continue reading →

Sera Gibson Taranaki Mounga is excited to welcome Sera Gibson to the team as Project Manager until July 2020. She joins as cover for Sean Zieltjes who is on paternity leave. Taranaki Mounga Chairman Jamie Tuuta says Sera brings a wealth of experience having previously worked for the Department of Conservation and more recently Te Kotahitanga o Te Atiawa. “Her broad understanding of the regional ecosystem, deep relationships and technical expertise is a welcome addition to the team,” says Jamie. Born in Taranaki and of Te Atiawa, Ngāruahine and Te Arawa descent, Sera…continue reading →

By Georgina Tubby, Taranaki Mounga DOC Ranger This touwouwai Black, Blue, pale Blue and Metal hasn't been seen since his release in May 2018! PHOTO: Tony Green During late spring 2019 and early summer 2020 our Rangers, along with some dedicated volunteers, were busy on the mounga monitoring our awesome translocated population of toutouwai.  This breeding season marks our most successful yet with 19 pairs observed and at least 14 pairs having bred. Pair numbers have doubled since last season. Since their release in April 2017 and again in May 2018, our toutouwai have been gradually establishing a population…continue reading →

Mt Taranaki’s pests be warned – Tama Blackburn has been busy. Taranaki Mounga DOC Ranger Tama Blackburn Mr Blackburn is a Department of Conservation (DOC) Ranger in Taranaki, and like all of DOC’s staff, he’s currently working from home during the COVID-19 Level 4 lockdown. Although he’s normally out on the mountain, he’s turned his hands to constructing more than 110 traps to target stoats and ferrets living there. In the days before the lockdown, Mr Blackburn collaborated with Taranaki Mounga Project Manager Sean Zieltjes and DOC Supervisor Jared Coombes to stockpile timber and…continue reading →

DOC Biodiversity Ranger Ellen Squire releases the three juvenile whio into the Kapuni Stream. Three juvenile whio were quietly released onto the Kapuni Stream last week (Tuesday 24 March) after an event to be attended by representatives from Te Korowai o Ngāruahine, START Taranaki and those who helped to care and transport the whio, was cancelled due to Covid-19 concerns. The release was the first into a south Taranaki river on Egmont National Park. The two male and one female whio were bred at Ngā Manu Nature Reserve in Waikanae and then taken…continue reading →

A record number of whio ducklings have been located on Mt Taranaki in what is the best year for our rare native blue duck. Eight-seven (87) ducklings have been found by Department of Conservation (DOC) Rangers on eight regularly surveyed rivers. This is an increase of 71 percent from the 51 ducklings located during the 2018-2019 breeding season. The annual whio monitoring work on Mt Taranaki is part of the DOC Whio Forever partnership with Genesis Energy. Reducing predator numbers is a major factor in the large increase of whio. In the last…continue reading →

Making a DOC 200 stoat trap is not easy. Just ask students from Coastal Taranaki Area School, Manukorihi and Devon intermediate schools. Students from Manukorihi Intermediate and Coastal Taranaki Area School who participate in the New Horizons Aotearoa program. Since 2018, when New Horizons Aotearoa joined Taranaki Mounga, about 60 Year 7 and 8 students have done what many people cannot when they mastered trap building. This after-school mentoring programme uses building as a platform to lift students’ confidence while opening their eyes to Taranaki’s natural environment. Students are selected by their schools…continue reading →

BTW Company Director Grant Aitken (far left) with some of his volunteering team. PHOTO: Vicki Zieltjes Over the last 12 months a number of Taranaki-based businesses have supported biodiversity efforts on the Mounga. One such business is BTW Company (BTW) which has provided opportunities for its staff to check and maintain 53 traps along a five-kilometre loop near the Mangaoraka carpark by the North Egmont Visitor Centre. BTW Director Grant Aitken says as with many other community projects the company supports, the staff enjoy being actively involved. “We’re proud to be a company…continue reading →

Kaitiaki Whenua Ranger Wayne Capper. PHOTO: Vicki Zieltjes Kaitiaki Whenua Ranger Wayne Capper (Taranaki Iwi, Te Atiawa, Ngāti Ruanui, Ngā Ruahine) is loving everything about his role, created as a partnership between the Department of Conservation (DOC) and Te Kāhui o Taranaki Trust. Wayne is working alongside the DOC Visitor Assets team as he manages the upkeep of 29 cultural sites returned to the iwi as part of its 2015 Treaty of Waitangi settlement. These properties lie within the rohe of Taranaki Iwi between Oeo in South Taranaki and New Plymouth’s Ngā Motu/Sugar…continue reading →

If you have been to Rotokare Scenic Reserve at dawn or dusk, you would have heard the symphony of bird song. This 230-hectare predator-free environment is protected by an 8.2 kilometre pest-proof fence and native flora, lizards and invertebrates are thriving. Native birds like hihi, kiwi, kārearea, kererū, toutouwai, tieke and pāteke abound. Rotokare Scenic Reserve Trust Conservation Manager Fiona Gordon. PHOTO: Vicki Zieltjes Earlier this year a native bird species was returned when 60 titipounamu were translocated from the Mounga to Rotokare as part of the restoration of the Rotokare reserve. Monitoring…continue reading →

Restoring the flora, fauna and birdlife along the Hangatahua Awa, also known as Stoney River, is important to students from Coast Taranaki School. Principal Scott Walden, left, and students from Coastal Taranaki School. To support this restoration, Year 9 – 13 students from the school are now managing 18 DOC200 stoat traps which cover two kilometres along Blue Rata Reserve in Okato. Many of the students who will check the traps, also built them, thanks to their participation in the mentoring programme New Horizons Aotearoa. Coastal Taranaki School principal Scott Walden says the…continue reading →

Professor Bruce Clarkson. Last week we listened to Professor Bruce Clarkson (pictured) talk about the positive change in biodiversity on Egmont National Park. Professor Clarkson knows the Park extremely well. He was raised in Midhirst and a lot of his early research focused on the Mounga. He is now University of Waikato's Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and recognised as one of New Zealand's foremost authorities on ecological restoration. He shared fascinating facts and images showing the physical landscape changes from when the Park was ravaged by possums and goats in the 1960s, to its…continue reading →

In July state-of-the-art thermal camera aerial technology was trialed as part of the search for the final remaining goats in the subalpine area of Egmont National Park. The good news was that the experienced thermal team did not detect any goats or see any sign of goats during the 30 hours of operational flying time. Hunting and local expertise was provided by staff from the Department of Conservation’s Te Anau and Taranaki offices, and a team from Te Anau Helicopters conducted the aerial operation and thermal detection work. The result from the trial indicates the…continue reading →

On Thursday 31 October 2019 the final aerial 1080 operation was completed on the Kaitake Range. This was the second application over the 3000 hectare area which aims to completely remove possums from the range as well as reducing overall predator numbers to less than five percent. A total of 13 water samples were taken during both operations on both public and private water supplies within 24 hours of each application on the Kaitake Range. Of the 13 samples taken on six seperate sites after both operations, NO detectable traces of 1080 were…continue reading →