When heavy floods hit our region earlier this year, several community trapping networks across Tasman and Golden Bay were devastated — traps swept away, tracks destroyed, and months of hard work undone overnight. But thanks to the quick response of TET’s Predator Free Activator, Elaine Asquith, there’s good news on the horizon.
Elaine successfully secured $50,000 from the Lottery Minister’s Discretionary Fund (for natural disasters) to help trapping groups recover from the flood damage. The funding will go towards replacing and repairing lost traps, as well as covering hours to reinstate trap networks washed out by floodwaters. And to help prevent future losses, groups are being offered waratahs, chains, and shackles to tether traps securely — a simple way to stop them floating off in the next big flood.
Community trapping groups affected include Parapara Valley Environment Group, Paines Ford, Battle for the Banded Rail, Otuwhero Wetland, Farmers for Whio, Moutere Birdsong, Kaiteriteri Mountain Bike Park, Beukes Bush, Marahau Halo, and Kaituna Track. One lost trap from Kaituna was even found halfway down the Tākaka Valley — lodged in a tree, complete with a dead rat inside!
Farmers for Whio was among the hardest hit, with many traps lost to floodwaters despite being staked down. Incredibly, one large DOC250 trap that had been set on the Motueka west bank at Pokororo was discovered by DOC staff over 100 kilometres away on Farewell Spit!
Despite the setback, Farmers for Whio are a motivated bunch and trapping remains active, with rat numbers on the rise as the weather warms and another beech mast year approaches — triggering rodent and stoat population booms. There’s hope among the challenges too: several Whio sightings have been reported since the floods, including a few single males that may signal nearby nesting females.
And in true community spirit, students from Ngatimoti School have been lending a hand to build new traps to replace those lost. A big shout out to Elaine for getting this funding across the line, and to everyone in our predator-free network for keeping up the mahi to protect our native wildlife.
