At the charitable trust's first annual meeting last Thursday, Leslie Van Gelder was named its new executive officer, taking over the role from Ting Zhang.
Ms Zhang said the trust now needed someone who could offer more than the 13 hours a week she had been providing.
The number of community trapping groups the trust was supporting had grown from 12 to 19 in the past six months, and Dr Van Gelder would work 30 hours a week to support them.
Dr Van Gelder, of Glenorchy, is an American-born archaeologist who also has a background in environmental education.
She said the ''groundswell of engagement'' in trapping by the community was such she believed a predator-free Wakatipu Basin by 2050 was possible.
The number of traps maintained by the 19 groups' members has grown more than 50% to 1015 since March, and more than 2400 predators have been caught in the past 12 months.
The traplines now span an area encompassing Paradise, Kingston and Arrowtown.
The trust was formed in June last year and officially launched last November.
A week ago it won the supreme award for the Queenstown region at the Trustpower Community Awards.
