Rotoiti Nature Recovery Project: a decade of learning

1
Rotoiti Nature Recovery Project a decade of
learning

• A presentation to the Tasman Natural Areas
  Enhancement Group
• 20 October 2006
• Matt Maitland
• Department of Conservation
• St Arnaud Area Office

2
Mainland Island Principles(after Saunders et al,
2000)

• Ecosystem focussed
• Experimental focus
• Extensive monitoring and quality reporting

3
Mainland Island Principles(after Wright 2005)

• Site based heritage management, with a focus on
  learning
• Results and outcomes communicated
• Research and learning take precedence over
  biodiversity outcomes
• Sustainable
• Defensible
• Involve community
• Sites that inspire similar management elsewhere

4
Know where youre going

• Vision
• Restoration of a beech forest ecosystem with
  emphasis on honeydew cycle
• Strategy
• The road map. Clear objectives
• Reduce pests to allow recovery
• Reintroduce lost species
• Advocate
• Operational
• Individual projects to achieve the above

5
The process

• Hypothesis
• That wasps exclude native biota from honeydew
  resource
• Control strategy (include experimentation)
• Toxic baiting
• Result monitor
• Malaise trap wasps strip transects
• Outcome monitor
• Measure honeydew resource
• Revisit hypothesis and strategy

6
Continuous improvement

• Wasp control (an example)
• Literature provides start point (30ha., 50m x 50m
  grid)
• Test over years wider grids (50x50 ?, 100x50 ?,
  200x50 ?, 200x 200 X)
• Calibrate result and outcome monitoring
• Reduce effort,
• Increase confidence
• A saleable package

7
Know your ecosystem

• What are the key drivers?
• Honeydew, beech seed, seabird nutrient input,
  volcanism.
• What is the ideal model?
• Build a food web/nutrient cycle
• What are the key threats?
• Stoats, wasps, fire, people.
• What are the priorities?
• The most threatened, highest profile, most
  achievable

8
Prove it!

• Before
• After
• Control
• Impact

9
Science vs. pragmatism

• Use your landscape
• Apply ecological principles
• Use the literature
• Other managed sites offer replicates

10
Size matters

• Scale influences sustainability
• Values influence scale (snails lt1 ha, kaka gt
  3,000 ha)
• Threats influence scale (mice 10s ha, stoats
  1,000s ha)
• Cater for disasters (fire, windthrow, tsunami...)
• Connectivity isolated or mosaic?

11
The ripple effect

• Be aware that meddling alters the balance
• Herbivore control and more birds may mean more
  weeds
• Predator guild shift less stoats more rats,
  less rats more mice, more mice more stoats.
• Rat control for birds at expense mice eating
  bugs?
• Habitat succession change more forest less
  pasture for takahe/pateke?