ORC told of possum quandary

Possums should be declared a regional pest species, and they remain a threat to biodiversity and a potential source of Tb on Otago Peninsula.

Otago Peninsula Biodiversity Group member Rod Morris made those points, linked to the group's earlier written submission, at a Otago Regional Council annual plan hearing in Dunedin yesterday.

Otago Peninsula Community Board chairman Paul Pope highlighted continuing biosecurity threats on the peninsula, in another submission on the council's 2017-18 draft annual plan.

Mr Pope said the biodiversity group had made ''excellent inroads'' in cutting possum numbers, but he warned about the ''high'' rabbit problem, which had created ''serious problems'' on the peninsula because of rising numbers of ferrets, stoats and weasels surviving on rabbits.

This in turn created ''high risk'' for key bird species such as the yellow-eyed penguin and the blue penguin.

He also urged that a working party, including the regional council, the Dunedin City Council, Doc and the Otakou runanga and other groups be formed to develop a harbour management plan that considered ''recreational, social, cultural and environmental'' aspects.

Mr Morris said that since the biodiversity group was established in 2008, it had raised more than $1 million, which had been spent removing more than 11,500 possums from the peninsula.

Possum numbers were dwindling, and most landowners supported that work.

But a few landowners were less active, and officially classifying possums as a pest would help with control efforts.

A $27,000 grant from the council's environmental enhancement fund last year had also been appreciated, but Mr Morris asked that the fund's criteria be widened to include labour costs, which were an essential part of environmental projects.

In the six months to March, volunteers had contributed 2469 hours of volunteer time, but the group could only afford to employ a half-time co-ordinator to train and manage the volunteers.

The group had been losing high quality managers through having insufficient funds to employ them fulltime, he said.

Mr Pope praised the council for its ''excellent work'' over the Tomahawk Lagoon, including ''positive clearing'' of the channel during heavy rain.

But the relationship between the council and the community could be developed further, including through a shared lagoon management plan, he said.

john.gibb@odt.co.nz


 

Add a Comment

 

Advertisement