It would target possums, rats and mustelids such as stoats across a 660,000ha area between Lakes Wakatipu and Hawea to create a ‘‘Southern Lakes Sanctuary’’ for more than 20 threatened or at-risk bird and lizard species.
It could also be a lifeline for adventure tourism workers in the district who lost their jobs during the Covid-19 crisis.
If the funding requests are successful, the project is expected to create more than 100 jobs.
The group presented its case at separate meetings last week with Predator Free 2050 chief executive Ed Chignell, and with representatives from the Queenstown Lakes District Council, Otago Regional Council and Central Lakes Trust.
It has applied for $19.6 million from Predator Free 2050, a company set up in 2017 by the previous government to invest in landscape-scale projects and breakthrough research in predator eradication methods.
The two councils and the charitable trust have been approached to co-fund the remaining $10.4 million.
Final decisions on the funding were expected within the next few weeks.
In a statement, Mr Chignell said he was ‘‘optimistic’’ about the group’s chances of gaining financial support.
‘‘I’m looking for a bit more detail in regard to the proposal, just to make sure the capability and capacity to deliver on the project is there.
‘‘I think they are very capable, and I think there’s just going
to be a bit of fine-tuning in how we put the final project together, but it’s got a lot of potential.’’
The plan was to ‘‘fast-track’’ the project to get people into jobs as quickly as possible, he said.
‘‘There’s no reason why it shouldn’t happen within a couple of months, but also no reason it shouldn’t happen quicker, provided we get all of the information we need.’’
Queenstown Lakes Mayor Jim Boult said it was a ‘‘legacy project’’ that would not only benefit the environment but also create employment.
‘‘We are very interested in supporting its progress,’’ he said.
The consortium, led by the Wakatipu Wildlife Trust, includes the Routeburn Dart Wildlife Trust, Central Otago Lakes Forest & Bird, Wanaka Backyard Trapping as well as about 45 community trapping groups in the Wakatipu.
First revealed by the Mountain Scene last month, the project would use natural barriers such as lakes, rivers and mountains to create a network of pest eradication and control ‘‘hubs’’ across an area extending from Makarora to Kingston, and from the Rees-Dart catchment eastwards to Lake Hawea, and encompassing both Lake Wakatipu and Lake Wanaka.
The consortium commissioned an independent study by environmental consultancy Wildlands Consultants, which concluded that if fully implemented, the predator-control project would have ‘‘no equal’’ in the country.
Wakatipu Wildlife Trust executive officer Leslie Van Gelder said the consortium’s members were ‘‘really excited’’ to get the proposal this far.
‘‘We’re also delighted at the support from Predator Free 2050, who is encouraging us to be bolder than we would have otherwise been.’’
