Moment of truth for mouse eradication bid
RODENT eradicators are hoping not to hear a squeak when they land on the Antipodes Islands as part one of the world’s largest mousekilling missions.
A team of 10 boarded HMNZS Wellington in Dunedin last night on a mission that will hopefully bring the Million Dollar Mouse project to a close.
They will spend three weeks scouring the island to see if any of the rodents have survived, and assess the recovery of other species.
The project, which began 18 months ago, involved helicopters dropping 65 tonnes of poisoned bait on to the island in an effort to eradicate about 200,000 mice.
The island is home to 21 endemic sea birds, including the Antipodean wandering albatross and eastern rockhopper penguin.
Million Dollar Mouse Project monitoring team leader Finlay Cox said team members did not want to get their hopes up too high.
‘‘Albatross scientists haven’t found any [mice] recently, but they are only in a limited area. We don’t know yet whether the project was successful.’’
The brodifacoum poison was a risk to birds, but this was far outweighed by the benefits, he said.
Mice were thought to have been introduced to the islands in the mid1900s.
‘‘They caused significant damage to the native biodiversity there.
‘‘Mice are prolific breeders, so if we just leave one pregnant female, they’ll increase back to the same numbers they were at,’’ Mr Cox said.
The project was one of the most technically difficult eradications of its day, he said.
‘‘It’s the biggest in which mice are the sole introduced predator.’’
Despite the project’s name, its cost has been estimated at $3.9 million.
It was funded by the Department of Conservation, Morgan Foundation, World Wildlife Foundation, Island Conservation and the public.
The team, which includes dog handlers and various scientists, will be accompanied by Defence Force staff on their 760km journey to the island.
SEE AND HEAR ABOUT BEST
PRACTICE IRRIGATION
Three field trips (sponsored by AWS Legal) are on offer, where you can see bestpractice irrigation in action and hear ontheground experiences from growers and farmers about how they use irrigation to improve their productivity in Central Otago, as well as ask questions. Each trip will look at how different irrigation systems are being used to suit local conditions. Choose from a tour of local orchards alongside the Clutha River, vineyards in the world’s southernmost winegrowing region, or pastoral farms in the Manuherikia Valley and Maniototo. Autumn is a spectacular time to see Central Otago.
HOW DOES NEW ZEALAND PERFORM NOW AND IN THE
FUTURE?
Felicity Turner, of Innovative Australian agtech business The Yield, will talk about how we can meet the world’s requirement to provide 60 percent more food by 2050 to feed its growing population using new technology to transform farming. This session is sponsored by Irricon. Stuart Styles, the director of the Irrigation Training and Research Center from San Luis, California, is an internationally recognised expert in water management. Stuart has toured New Zealand looking at how we use irrigation. He will talk about how our irrigation practices and regulatory regime compares to the rest of the world, covering areas New Zealand performs well in and what we could learn from overseas experience. This session is sponsored by Buddle Findlay. Winner of the creative sector of the World Class New Zealand Awards in 2012, Ian Taylor has used visual data in a range of settings, including developing screen graphics to help Kiwis follow America’s Cup race progress. He will talk about how developments in visual data could be used on the farm. This session is sponsored by Opus.
REGISTER NOW FOR AN EARLYBIRD DISCOUNT
Earlybird conference registrations, as well as discounts for groups and IrrigationNZ members, are available. Earlybird registrations are available until February 28. Places are also limited on the popular local tours, so early booking is recommended. Accommodation has also been reserved for conference attendees at a range of local providers. Day registration options are also available. For accommodation and registration information, visit www.irrigationnz.co.nz.
Principal conference partners WaterForce, Anderson Lloyd, Pioneer Energy and ANZ are supporting this event. Thanks also to Carrfields for sponsoring morning and afternoon tea, and 43 South for sponsoring a conference lunch.