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News Update - December 2007
2007 - what an amazing year!
The past year has been an amazing year for the Pomona Island Charitable Trust. Back in January we had the ambitious plan to rid Pomona Island of all introduced pests. We already had the stoats pretty much under control with our network of traps across the island, however, we were still catching ridiculously high numbers of rats in the stoat traps. Megan Willans was already working hard on an Assessment of Environmental Effects (an 80 page document) for the Trust so that we could apply for resource consent for an aerial application of brodifacoum in order to eradicate all those rats along with the mice on both Pomona and Rona Islands.
The early part of 2007 was quite a stressful time for the Trust as we awaited the decision from Environment Southland on our resource consent. At the same time we still hadn't secured all of the funding we needed to complete the rodent eradication programme. And on top of this we had to place an order for the rodent bait in order to secure the poison in time for the operation to take place over the winter. Half the cost of the bait had to be paid for up-front, but fortunately significant funding from one of our anonymous benefactors eased the financial pressures. News that the Community Trust of Southland would cover the remaining costs of the aerial drop was welcomed, as was the decision in May to grant the Trust the necessary resource consent. Although a lot of hard work had already been done to secure the funding and the resource consent, the real work on the ground was only just beginning ...............
........... not only were we aiming to eradicate the rats and mice, but we also needed to remove as many possums and deer from Pomona as possible before the start of the rodent eradication operation. We had less than 6 weeks to do this! Amazingly in this time over 430 possums and 4 deer were eliminated from the island, making way for the first aerial drop in July. The Trust was extremely fortunate that, following the first, aerial operation, we enjoyed over two weeks of very cold, dry weather. This, combined with a second aerial poison drop in August, has put us in a strong position to push for both Pomona and Rona Islands to become pest free refuges for Fiordland's native birds.
Where to next?
Whilst the Trust is optimistic that we are very close to achieving our goal of making Pomona and Rona Islands pest-free, it is still early days. At this stage everything is looking good on both islands, with no fresh sign of possums, deer, rats or mice on Pomona and no fresh sign of mice on Rona. However, we will be continuously monitoring both islands for signs of pests. As each month goes by without fresh sign our confidence that we have succeeded increases. However, we need to be vigilant each time we go to the islands to ensure that neither members of the Trust nor our working bee volunteers accidentally re-introduce rats and mice to Pomona and Rona. We are also encouraging the public to make sure that when they visit the islands they too take extra care not to inadvertently take rats and mice to the islands on their boats or kayaks. To this end we have produced a brochure asking lake users to help us keep Pomona and Rona pest-free. Copies of this brochure will be available by Christmas and can also be downloaded from our website. We want people to visit the islands to see the work that we have been doing, but we also want everyone to take responsibility for ensuring the islands remain free of introduced pests.
A reminder of our new quarantine measures
Now that summer is here and everyone is enjoying the warmer weather and, hopefully, the opportunity to get out onto Lake Manapouri, can we please remind you to take extra care if you decide to visit either Pomona or Rona Islands. To help us keep the islands free of rats and mice please follow the guidelines below:
Copies of our quarantine brochure are available at DOC and can be downloaded here.
Volunteers still needed
The Trust is optimistic that we are close to achieving our goal of removing all pests from Pomona and Rona Islands. However, we still need volunteers to help us do regular checks both for stoats and also to look for signs of rats, mice, deer and possums. A typical trap check working bee on Pomona Island lasts about 7 hours. It involves at least two groups of two people checking a total of 37 stoat traps, 12 rodent bait stations and motels as well as numerous chew sticks. Chew sticks have been placed in key locations across the island as a key means of monitoring for sign of rats, mice and possum. We are still doing monthly checks and it is very satisfying at the end of a day's work to be able to report that no evidence of pests was found.
We do still occasionally catch stoats in our traps on Pomona. Although we have a network of 24 stoat traps on the mainland adjacent to the island, the odd determined stoat does make it across Hurricane Passage. We will always face the threat of stoats swimming back to Pomona, hence the need to maintain the trap network on this island on a regular basis. This maintenance work is almost more important than eliminating pests from the island in the first place. So please consider coming along to a working bee to help the Trust keep Pomona Island free of pests. If you would like to be added to our volunteer email list please send your details to pomona.island@ihug.co.nz and we'll keep you informed of future working party details.
Monitoring
With most of the pest eradication work now completed, the Trust has started focussing on monitoring activities. We are currently undertaking a number of monitoring projects including regular checks for stoats, rats, mice, possum and deer. We are also monitoring the regeneration of the flora and the bird life on the islands. Back in 2005 the Trust commissioned the University of Otago to undertake a baseline research project on Pomona and Rona to determine the state of the vegetation, invertebrate and bird life prior to the elimination of pests. At the end of November a small group of volunteers set out to conduct 5-minute bird counts in key locations on both islands with the aim of comparing the number of birds present in 2007 with the numbers seen or heard in 2005. In 2007 on Rona Island over 20% more birds were seen or heard than in 2005 which was very pleasing. In particular, increases in the numbers of brown creepers and grey warblers were recorded. Two significant shag colonies (black shag and little shag) were also observed on the southern flank of Rona with lots of young birds sitting on nests.
On Pomona, direct comparisons were made difficult because of the weather conditions experienced this year. High winds on the day of the count hampered the volunteers best efforts to see and hear native birds. However, as with Rona, higher numbers of grey warblers and brown creepers were recorded in 2007 compared with 2005. At might a number of morepork were also heard on Pomona. Observing an increase in the numbers of grey warblers on both islands was particularly pleasing as the grey warbler was the winner of the Forest & Bird 2007 Bird of the Year poll.
This is the first Spring since rats and mice have been eradicated (hopefully!) from Pomona and Rona Islands so the birds will now have their first chance to breed without the threat of predation of their eggs and chicks. Early in the new year there should be a noticeable increase in the bird song on the islands and in future bird counts increases in all species should be recorded. Also the vegetation needs time to regenerate from heavy browsing from both deer and possums. The signs are looking good with new growth of deer-palatable species such as broadleaf already coming through.
One of the key reasons for undertaking intensive monitoring on the island is so that we can be sure that we have achieved our pest-free aim. Once this has been verified we can start the all important translocation of threatened and endangered bird species.
Friends of Pomona
Since the launch in September, the Trust has welcomed a lot of new Friends of Pomona. We have been particularly pleased with the response from our Corporate Friends and the support that we receive from our local community. The Trust has achieved a lot in a very short timeframe and with your input we are able to continue our restoration work on both Pomona and Rona Islands. We look forward to welcoming more Friends in the future as more individuals, families and businesses want to be associated with a successful community-led conservation project.
Watch out in 2008 for our new look news updates ...............
Art in the Park - back due to popular demand!
Last year the Trust supported the Department of Conservation's summer programme with a day trip to Pomona Island. The day was so successful, with a wait list, that the Trust has again teamed up with DOC, Graham Dainty (local, renowned photographer) and Chris Wilkie (exceptional artist and Art teacher) to offer 'Art in the Park'. On Sunday 20 January 2008 participants will have the opportunity to try their hand at sketching and photographing the flora and surroundings on Pomona as well as hearing about and seeing first hand the restoration work being done on the island.
Bookings for Art in the Park are essential and can be made through DOC in Te Anau (Tel. 03 249 7924). Cost: $40 adult, $20 child. This is a popular event and places are limited so book early to avoid disappointment!
The Trust's secretary, Viv Shaw, will also be giving an evening talk as part of the Fiordland Summer Programme at 7.30pm on Wednesday 16 January 2008 at the DOC visitor centre in Te Anau. Entitled 'vision for an island - community action', come along and hear how the Trust has worked with DOC to produce real conservation benefits for the community.
Art for sale
In summer 2007 Chris Wilkie spent some time on Pomona getting in touch with nature on the island and drawing sketches which he has subsequently made up into some impressive paintings. The Trust is delighted to be able to offer some of these original paintings for sale on the artist's behalf (see pictures of the paintings alongside this newsletter). Chris has indicated that a percentage from the sale of these paintings will be donated to the Trust. The price for each painting is available on request from Chris Wilkie who can be contacted by email at christalbotw@hotmail.com or by phone on 03 249 9085.
And finally …….
Everyone at the Pomona Island Charitable Trust would like to wish you a Happy Christmas and a pest-free New Year!
News Update - December 2007
2007 - what an amazing year!
The past year has been an amazing year for the Pomona Island Charitable Trust. Back in January we had the ambitious plan to rid Pomona Island of all introduced pests. We already had the stoats pretty much under control with our network of traps across the island, however, we were still catching ridiculously high numbers of rats in the stoat traps. Megan Willans was already working hard on an Assessment of Environmental Effects (an 80 page document) for the Trust so that we could apply for resource consent for an aerial application of brodifacoum in order to eradicate all those rats along with the mice on both Pomona and Rona Islands.
The early part of 2007 was quite a stressful time for the Trust as we awaited the decision from Environment Southland on our resource consent. At the same time we still hadn't secured all of the funding we needed to complete the rodent eradication programme. And on top of this we had to place an order for the rodent bait in order to secure the poison in time for the operation to take place over the winter. Half the cost of the bait had to be paid for up-front, but fortunately significant funding from one of our anonymous benefactors eased the financial pressures. News that the Community Trust of Southland would cover the remaining costs of the aerial drop was welcomed, as was the decision in May to grant the Trust the necessary resource consent. Although a lot of hard work had already been done to secure the funding and the resource consent, the real work on the ground was only just beginning ...............
........... not only were we aiming to eradicate the rats and mice, but we also needed to remove as many possums and deer from Pomona as possible before the start of the rodent eradication operation. We had less than 6 weeks to do this! Amazingly in this time over 430 possums and 4 deer were eliminated from the island, making way for the first aerial drop in July. The Trust was extremely fortunate that, following the first, aerial operation, we enjoyed over two weeks of very cold, dry weather. This, combined with a second aerial poison drop in August, has put us in a strong position to push for both Pomona and Rona Islands to become pest free refuges for Fiordland's native birds.
Where to next?
Whilst the Trust is optimistic that we are very close to achieving our goal of making Pomona and Rona Islands pest-free, it is still early days. At this stage everything is looking good on both islands, with no fresh sign of possums, deer, rats or mice on Pomona and no fresh sign of mice on Rona. However, we will be continuously monitoring both islands for signs of pests. As each month goes by without fresh sign our confidence that we have succeeded increases. However, we need to be vigilant each time we go to the islands to ensure that neither members of the Trust nor our working bee volunteers accidentally re-introduce rats and mice to Pomona and Rona. We are also encouraging the public to make sure that when they visit the islands they too take extra care not to inadvertently take rats and mice to the islands on their boats or kayaks. To this end we have produced a brochure asking lake users to help us keep Pomona and Rona pest-free. Copies of this brochure will be available by Christmas and can also be downloaded from our website. We want people to visit the islands to see the work that we have been doing, but we also want everyone to take responsibility for ensuring the islands remain free of introduced pests.
A reminder of our new quarantine measures
Now that summer is here and everyone is enjoying the warmer weather and, hopefully, the opportunity to get out onto Lake Manapouri, can we please remind you to take extra care if you decide to visit either Pomona or Rona Islands. To help us keep the islands free of rats and mice please follow the guidelines below:
- before leaving any shore check all obvious rodent hiding places on boats for unwanted stowaways
- check your packs for rats and mice before getting off on Pomona and Rona Islands
- check boats, packs and clothing for unwanted plants, seeds and insects
- do not leave any rubbish on the islands
- do not take animals, including pets, to the islands
- keep to tracks and minimise disturbance to birds
- report any sightings to the Trust immediately.
Copies of our quarantine brochure are available at DOC and can be downloaded here.
Volunteers still needed
The Trust is optimistic that we are close to achieving our goal of removing all pests from Pomona and Rona Islands. However, we still need volunteers to help us do regular checks both for stoats and also to look for signs of rats, mice, deer and possums. A typical trap check working bee on Pomona Island lasts about 7 hours. It involves at least two groups of two people checking a total of 37 stoat traps, 12 rodent bait stations and motels as well as numerous chew sticks. Chew sticks have been placed in key locations across the island as a key means of monitoring for sign of rats, mice and possum. We are still doing monthly checks and it is very satisfying at the end of a day's work to be able to report that no evidence of pests was found.
We do still occasionally catch stoats in our traps on Pomona. Although we have a network of 24 stoat traps on the mainland adjacent to the island, the odd determined stoat does make it across Hurricane Passage. We will always face the threat of stoats swimming back to Pomona, hence the need to maintain the trap network on this island on a regular basis. This maintenance work is almost more important than eliminating pests from the island in the first place. So please consider coming along to a working bee to help the Trust keep Pomona Island free of pests. If you would like to be added to our volunteer email list please send your details to pomona.island@ihug.co.nz and we'll keep you informed of future working party details.
Monitoring
With most of the pest eradication work now completed, the Trust has started focussing on monitoring activities. We are currently undertaking a number of monitoring projects including regular checks for stoats, rats, mice, possum and deer. We are also monitoring the regeneration of the flora and the bird life on the islands. Back in 2005 the Trust commissioned the University of Otago to undertake a baseline research project on Pomona and Rona to determine the state of the vegetation, invertebrate and bird life prior to the elimination of pests. At the end of November a small group of volunteers set out to conduct 5-minute bird counts in key locations on both islands with the aim of comparing the number of birds present in 2007 with the numbers seen or heard in 2005. In 2007 on Rona Island over 20% more birds were seen or heard than in 2005 which was very pleasing. In particular, increases in the numbers of brown creepers and grey warblers were recorded. Two significant shag colonies (black shag and little shag) were also observed on the southern flank of Rona with lots of young birds sitting on nests.
On Pomona, direct comparisons were made difficult because of the weather conditions experienced this year. High winds on the day of the count hampered the volunteers best efforts to see and hear native birds. However, as with Rona, higher numbers of grey warblers and brown creepers were recorded in 2007 compared with 2005. At might a number of morepork were also heard on Pomona. Observing an increase in the numbers of grey warblers on both islands was particularly pleasing as the grey warbler was the winner of the Forest & Bird 2007 Bird of the Year poll.
This is the first Spring since rats and mice have been eradicated (hopefully!) from Pomona and Rona Islands so the birds will now have their first chance to breed without the threat of predation of their eggs and chicks. Early in the new year there should be a noticeable increase in the bird song on the islands and in future bird counts increases in all species should be recorded. Also the vegetation needs time to regenerate from heavy browsing from both deer and possums. The signs are looking good with new growth of deer-palatable species such as broadleaf already coming through.
One of the key reasons for undertaking intensive monitoring on the island is so that we can be sure that we have achieved our pest-free aim. Once this has been verified we can start the all important translocation of threatened and endangered bird species.
Friends of Pomona
Since the launch in September, the Trust has welcomed a lot of new Friends of Pomona. We have been particularly pleased with the response from our Corporate Friends and the support that we receive from our local community. The Trust has achieved a lot in a very short timeframe and with your input we are able to continue our restoration work on both Pomona and Rona Islands. We look forward to welcoming more Friends in the future as more individuals, families and businesses want to be associated with a successful community-led conservation project.
Watch out in 2008 for our new look news updates ...............
Art in the Park - back due to popular demand!
Last year the Trust supported the Department of Conservation's summer programme with a day trip to Pomona Island. The day was so successful, with a wait list, that the Trust has again teamed up with DOC, Graham Dainty (local, renowned photographer) and Chris Wilkie (exceptional artist and Art teacher) to offer 'Art in the Park'. On Sunday 20 January 2008 participants will have the opportunity to try their hand at sketching and photographing the flora and surroundings on Pomona as well as hearing about and seeing first hand the restoration work being done on the island.
Bookings for Art in the Park are essential and can be made through DOC in Te Anau (Tel. 03 249 7924). Cost: $40 adult, $20 child. This is a popular event and places are limited so book early to avoid disappointment!
The Trust's secretary, Viv Shaw, will also be giving an evening talk as part of the Fiordland Summer Programme at 7.30pm on Wednesday 16 January 2008 at the DOC visitor centre in Te Anau. Entitled 'vision for an island - community action', come along and hear how the Trust has worked with DOC to produce real conservation benefits for the community.
Art for sale
In summer 2007 Chris Wilkie spent some time on Pomona getting in touch with nature on the island and drawing sketches which he has subsequently made up into some impressive paintings. The Trust is delighted to be able to offer some of these original paintings for sale on the artist's behalf (see pictures of the paintings alongside this newsletter). Chris has indicated that a percentage from the sale of these paintings will be donated to the Trust. The price for each painting is available on request from Chris Wilkie who can be contacted by email at christalbotw@hotmail.com or by phone on 03 249 9085.
And finally …….
Everyone at the Pomona Island Charitable Trust would like to wish you a Happy Christmas and a pest-free New Year!
Previous News Updates
September 2007
July 2007
April 2007
February 2007
December 2006
October 2006
August 2006
September 2007
July 2007
April 2007
February 2007
December 2006
October 2006
August 2006
Aerial operation photos courtesy of Tracy Tibbles
Photo courtesy of David Mudge
Examples of Chris Wilkie's art for sale
Photo courtesy of DOC