May 30, 2018
More for predator eradication in Taranaki
An iwi-backed plan to eradicate pests from Mount Taranaki has received a boost with an $11.7 million funding injection into a complementary region-wide pest project.
Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage says Taranaki Regional Council will with rural landowners to eradicate introduced rats, stoats and possums from native habitats.
The Taranaki Taku Turanga project starts near New Plymouth and will be progressively rolled out across 4,500 hectares of farmland surrounding the Taranaki/Egmont National Park.
Intensive trapping will create a virtual barrier to prevent reinfestation of the 34,000 hectare park, where there is significant predator control work being undertaken by the Taranaki Mounga Project involving the Department of Conservation, eight Taranaki iwi, the NEXT Foundation and other sponsors.
Ms Sage says the new funding being is being matched by local government and other funders at a ratio of more than three to one, with a total project budget of $47 million over five years.
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