NZDA H&W 198 WEB

Four management units
A mixture of sika subspecies were introduced to the
central North Island from Britain in 1905, and now live
throughout the Kaimanawa Forest Park Conservation Area
(74,600 ha) and Kaweka Forest Park Conservation Area
(59,000 ha) – total area 133,600 ha. The proposed Sika
HOSI Management Area is broken into four management
units under slightly different management to meet various
conservation and hunting aims that are specific to identified
habitat and place:
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Kaweka Mountain Beech Management Unit – 18,700
ha: based on the current Kaweka Mountain Beech
Project area, west of the main Kaweka Range, which
has been intensively managed since 1998. The objective
is to maintain the current gains that have been made,
which have increased beech regeneration, improved
meat quality and the hunting experience. There is a well
established network of huts, tracks and helipads, and
significant research data has been collected on both
habitat and the deer.
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Other Mountain or Mountain/Silver Beech
Management Unit – 18,300 ha: areas of mountain and
silver beech habitat similar to the Kaweka Mountain Beech
Management Unit. They include the Rangitikei Remote
Experience Zone and the headwaters of the Oamaru River
within the Kaimanawa Forest Park, both of which generally
lack canopy regeneration after natural canopy collapse.
There has been no effective deer impact management
here for decades, there is limited historical data and
hunting access is more difficult. Resident deer (hind)
condition and performance and habitat quality continue to
decline. The objective is to replicate the Kaweka Mountain
Beech Management Unit outcomes at these sites.
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Enhanced Trophy Management Unit – 65,600 ha:
these sites are identified as a 6-km buffer around the
northern and eastern boundaries of Kaimanawa Forest
Park, and the eastern and southern boundaries of Kaweka
Forest Park, in an attempt to enhance the availability of
high-quality sika trophies. Productive habitat on private
lands adjoining these areas is where most trophy sika
stags “grow out” during spring and summer. Stags then
move during the rut into this strip of public conservation
land and can be hunted by the public. These areas
provide most of the high-quality sika trophies available
on public land and are hunted the most, thanks to their
accessibility. Mostly these areas are a mixture of red and
silver beech forests or manuka shrublands. At current deer
densities, retaining beech forest canopies, where they
exist, appears achievable, as there has been widespread
canopy recovery after historic damage. The objective is
to maintain beech canopies and enhance both trophy
and meat quality, and to enhance rut hunting experiences
through higher contact rates with rutting stags.
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Enhanced Harvest Management Unit – 31,000 ha: the
remaining public sika hunting land in the Kaimanawas
and Kawekas has been combined into this management
unit. These areas do not produce the best trophies, but
nevertheless offer valuable hunting opportunities. The
objective is to maintain beech canopies, enhance meat
quality by having healthier animals, and improve rut
hunting experiences.
The four management units proposed for the sika Herd of Special Interest. The surrounding land is privately owned, including farms and
Maori land. Owing to the wandering habits of sika stags, many of the trophy animals taken on public land have spent much of their time
growing up on private lands outside the proposed HOSI boundaries, and this underpins the concept of an Enhanced Trophy Management
Unit. It is possible that other management units may be identified in future on other areas of public land or adjoining private land, with
specific conditions and management options to be considered at the time.
NZ Hunting & Wildlife 198 - Spring 2017
25