August 2012 Issue - Federated Mountain Clubs of NZ

Pests Knocked Down in theKepler mountainsWork to return birdsong to the Keplermountains is in full swing with the firstknockdown of stoats and rats completed.Traps were set at the start of April and checkedfor the first time at the end of the month,resulting in 48 stoats, 37 rats and six mice inthe traps.This first knock-down follows an intensiveeight months of work by DOC contractorscutting tracks across a 3,000-hectare area ofthe Kepler Mountains. In March, FiordlandCollege students, Venture Scouts and membersof the local community then placed the 472stoat and rat traps at 100-metre intervals alongthese tracks. The traps were pre-baited with ahen’s egg to attract resident stoats to use thetunnels as a source of food.Murray Willans, Chair of the FiordlandConservation Trust said ‘This first knockdownis a milestone to be celebrated, and isthe result of several years of hard work andplanning behind the scenes.’The project’s principal sponsor is KidsRestore New Zealand, a programme underan Air New Zealand Environment Trust thatencourages leadership and environmentaleducation for young people. The CommunityTrust of Southland provided extra funding. Theexisting trapping undertaken by the KeplerChallenge committee and their volunteers willact as a ‘ring fence’ around this work, withmost of the pest control undertaken withinthe Kepler track area.Ruud Kleinpaste, of Kids RestoreNew Zealand said, ‘If we are serious aboutrestoring our New Zealand, we have to beserious about the the control, or better still theextermination, of introduced predators.’In the coming months intensive ratcontrol, using additional traps and baitstations, will be set up in a targetted areacovering 450 hectares from the control gatesto Brod Bay. Some extra traps will also be setup for feral cats.The aim of this project is to restore theKepler area to its former state. The overall16FMC Bulletin • August 2012focus is to reduce the number of pests, in the lower3,000 hectares of the Kepler and then eventuallyin the entire Kepler peninsula. From here, the nextstep is to bring back some of the species that arecurrently close to extinction in the area.Visit: www.fiordlandconservationtrust.org.nzOld FMC Logo RemainsAfter reviewing options for a newer, revampedFMC logo, the FMC executive has decided tostick with the old, tried and trusted one. Earlierthis year, the executive asked FMC Bulletin editorShaun Barnett to investigate a new logo, so heengaged designer Jo Kinley to come up with arange of options (see below). Barnett favoured achange, and liked the third logo on the left, butrespects the executive’s unanimous decision tostick with the traditional one.Logo options by Bulletin designer Jo Kinley