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Matukituki Charitable Trust
Gillian Crombie
The Matukituki Charitable Trust (MTC) was established in March 2013 by Gillian and Derek Crombie. Mark Pizey was appointed as a Trustee of MCT at this time. The vision of the Trust is to minimise the predator population in the Matukituki Valley and restore the native species under threat including kea, SI robin, SI kaka, rock wren, whio, braided riverbed birds, SI long-tailed bat, up to six species of lizard, and scarlet mistletoe. MCT identified the Matukituki Valley as a birdlife system under great pressure when the Crombies noticed rapidly declining numbers of kea. The valley has easy public access and is unique with its straightforward tracks and excellent huts, as well as supporting school lodges and the historic NZAC Aspiring Hut. The valley offers levels of experience from easy family walks (Aspiring Hut 2 hours) to high altitude alpine climbing – Mts Aspiring, Liverpool, Avalanche, Rob Roy and the Cascade saddle route to the Dart Valley – 80,000 visitors use the valley each year. Technical advice from DOC experts has been sought with a view to creating a predator-free environment that is conducive to the recovery of remnant populations outlined above. These conditions should also permit the future reintroduction of mohua, kiwi and weka to the valley. The DOC plan includes some recommended bird monitoring to check that such an environment has indeed been created. Since establishment MCT have worked closely with DOC and volunteers to set up 8 more lines of tracking tunnels, including
making them. The valley now has 14 lines which our volunteers monitor quarterly with DOC assistance. MCT have also funded and built 16 beech seed funnels which, with the help of our volunteers, have been erected in two lines in the beech forest. Paul Hellebrekers and Stu Thorne, who are both ex-DOC staff and are now involved as wardens at huts up the valley, are both taking leading roles in directing the progress of the Trust. This summer a band of a dozen juvenile kea have made their presence known up the valley by making early morning and evening visits to Aspiring Hut. Some visitors who have camped nearby the hut have struggled to divert the keas attention to items more interesting than their tents! Groups of kea have been frequenting Cascade Saddle, French Ridge Hut, and Liverpool Hut also. The last two breeding seasons have been successful with numbers increasing significantly, but with the expected beech mast the predators in the valley are expected to increase exponentially. The valley has been designated
by DOC as being suitable for the ‘Battle for the Birds’ 1080 drop if certain criteria are met regarding the beech mast. MCT are working with DOC and the Kea Conservation Trust to determine the most effective use of 1080 around the resident kea while trying to minimise the impact of any kea fatalities that may occur. MCT welcome the opportunity to target the predators in the Matukituki Valley en masse prior to their plan to extend the trapping lines to cover both sides of the valley from the confluence of the East Matukituki Valley right up to the valley end at Scotts bivy. This will involve the laying of 740 traps over 2 years to target stoats/rats, possum and ferrets. The first year will concentrate on the laying of 360 stoat/rat traps. These traps have been designed according to DOC standards with Kea proof entry points and steel mesh ends. This will be a very big undertaking, but with a good volunteer base and sporting and service groups in Wanaka indicating a keen interest in helping, we hope to have all these traps installed and operating by the end of 2015. Funding from
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