Hiking guides redeployed to protect parrots
New Government funding will allow out-of-work Canterbury hiking guides to be employed to protect the country’s rarest parakeets.
Acting Conservation Minister Ayesha Verrall announced the new $1.15 million project this week, which will keep 10 staff from outdoor guiding company Hiking New Zealand employed over 18 months.
Once found throughout New Zealand, the ka¯ ka¯ riki karaka – or orange-fronted parakeet – is now critically endangered, with just 300 left in the wild. Almost all live in a 30-kilometre slab of beech forest across Arthur’s Pass National Park and Lake Sumner Forest Park.
‘‘Orange-fronted parakeets have been thought to be extinct twice, and without extensive predator control, this vulnerable taonga species again faces a similar fate,’’ Verrall said.
The workers would focus on predator control across 30,000 hectares of ka¯ ka¯ riki strongholds in the two parks.
‘‘The investment means Hiking New Zealand can keep their guides employed and expand their skills into conservation mahi like tracking, tunnel monitoring and trap setting.
‘‘Workers will also spend some of their time on wilding conifer control work.’’
The project would collaborate with local iwi to offer employment and training opportunities, and provide skills and experience that could lead to a career in conservation.
Hiking New Zealand co-director Dan Murphy said the company was largely in hibernation while international tourists were unable to visit because of the Covid-19 pandemic. ‘‘Without this Jobs for Nature project, we would have had to lay off most of our guides. It’s huge getting this contract – as a business you suddenly feel useful again.’’