The project
The Predator Free Te Kinga Project is now under the governance of the Ara o Te Kinga Community-Led Trust. For the latest updates, project information, and contact details, please visit the trust’s new website or Facebook page.
In its first five years under Council leadership, the project achieved its primary goal: the successful removal of the breeding population of possums from 4000ha of Mt Te Kinga and a further 7000ha of surrounding farmland. This milestone marks a major step toward long-term ecological restoration in the region.
The removal of possums is part of a coordinated predator-control programme across the wider Lake Brunner basin. Benefits include helping to restore biodiversity of native flora and fauna and supporting regional development and tourism.
Mt Te Kinga effectively stands as an island in a sea of lakes and farmland which provide an important buffer between the mountain and surrounding reinvasion sources. The farmland within the project boundary is divided into Protection Zones, with trapping carried out by project staff, Papa Taiao students, and landowners. A double “ring of steel” trap network helps prevent reinvasion from neighbouring areas. Coordination with DOC (Department of Conservation) and OSPRI (Operational Solutions for Primary Industry) supports suppression of possum numbers in the surrounding ranges, reducing pressure on the ring of steel.
The new Ara o Te Kinga trust plans to move the project into the future by increasing the list of targeted species to include rats, stoats, feral cats, pigs, and goats, allowing for the potential reintroduction of taonga species such as whio (blue duck), roroa (great spotted kiwi), and pāteke (brown teal). Long term plans include the eventual expansion of the project from the mountains to the sea, stretching between the Ahaura/Grey Rivers in the north and the Taramakau River in the south with the end goal to link with other initiatives to help achieve a Predator Free New Zealand by 2050.
