Work to increase the survival of braided river birds and other species in the project area is well underway.

The Department of Conservation has been doing long-term predator control work in the Tasman Valley since 2005. The work has been supported by landowners at Glentanner and Mount Cook Station’s and both Meridian and Genesis Energy as part of Project River Recovery.

Now the Te Manahuna Aoraki project is more than doubling that trapping network from 26,000 ha to 60,000 ha and extending it into the Cass, Godley and Macaulay River systems.

If the experience in the Tasman Valley is anything to go by it should have a positive impact on the breeding success of birds like wrybill, black fronted tern, banded dotterel, black billed gull and kakī/black stilt, says Te Manahuna Aoraki project manager Simone Cleland.

A big thank you to the landowners who are providing access to our trapping teams to install and maintain the trapping networks which should be in place by March.