Local hapu and DOC drop 1080 banquet on Russell State Forest - finally

The aerial 1080 drop over Russell State Forest was completed yesterday.

The aerial drop of 1080-soaked cereal pellets intended to kill thousands of possums has taken place over the Russell State Forest.

The operation carried out in ideal conditions started this morningand was finished around 3pm, with the Department of Conservation (DOC) reporting there were no problems.

DOC northern regions manager Sue Reed Thomas said it was a relief to have that stage of the operation completed, with a smaller operation over a smaller area of Cape Brett planned for tomorrow .

Today'shelicopter operation, the first stage of the forest restoration plan, did not take place without action and opposition from anti-1080 protesters.

''We did have some equipment tampered with overnight before yesterday's operation started,'' Reed Thomas said.

Police were now following up that matter and the damage had not affected the drop, she said.

''This is the start of a long-term process. It's taken a while, and a lot of hard work, to get to this point.

''I have a lot of very tired staff but I'm so proud of the team and what they've achieved. They've done a good job involving as many affected people as possible and working toward saving that forest.''

Two small groups of protesters held vigil during today'spoison drop — one near Puhipuhi on the southwestern reach of the approximately 5000-hectare, rugged Russell Forest and the other at at Elliot Bay, on the east coast south of the Bay of Islands.

The 1080 drop was organised as part of a partnership between local hapu and DOC. As well as okaying the poison drop, a collective representing the nine hapu bordering the forest are in the process of finalising a 20-year management plan to bring the forest back to health.

Some hapu members say the consultative process has not been fully inclusive and objected to the 1080 drop on those grounds as much as a dislike of the poison's use.

In a bold eleventh hour move, an attempt was made by a small local group to have the Maori Land Court Taitokerau order an injunction to stop DOC going ahead.

That application, heard by Judge Miharo Armstrong in Whangārei last Monday, was unsuccessful. Judge Armstrong ruled the court had no jurisdiction over Crown-owned (or public) land, only Maori reservation and freehold lands.

Meanwhile, the debate continues about the use of 1080, with groups saying other methods are available or under development.