New island sanctuaries to fight extinction of signature species

1.00pm

Conservation Minister Chris Carter today announced a $7 million project to create two island sanctuaries for threatened native wildlife around mainland New Zealand.

The eight-year restoration project will transform Secretary Island in Doubtful Sound and Resolution Island in Dusky Sound into safe havens for species such as the whio (blue duck) and the kakapo.

Resolution Island is 20,860 hectares, while Secretary Island is 8140ha.

"By restoring Secretary and Resolution, we are writing New Zealand an insurance policy against the extinction of signature species," Mr Carter said.

"Their size, and the terrain of Secretary, which rises to 1196m, offers a critically important opportunity to nurture larger and more diverse populations of native wildlife than can possibly be accommodated on island sanctuaries at present."

Restoration of the islands would cost $7m, with annual maintenance costs of up to $1m a year, and would involve two "enormous" pest control programmes which would be amongst the biggest the Conservation Department had ever attempted.

"Resolution Island is populated by mice, deer and stoats, and there is a historical record of rats," Mr Carter said.

"Secretary Island is also populated by stoats and deer."

The scale of the project meant Secretary Island would be tackled first, and lesson learned there would be applied to Resolution Island.

- NZPA