Deer hunter support
When trapping failed in the Dart and Caples valleys to head off a rat plague, the alternative of aerial 1080 poisoning had to be considered. Part of the affected area is also a Recreational Hunting Area, an issue discussed with local deer hunters who agreed to accept an initial knock-down operation with aerially-broadcast pellets. Rats were then kept to low levels using bait stations, benefiting the mōhua.
Similar hunter acceptance was reached for the use of aerial 1080 to protect the orange-fronted kākāriki.
In Fiordland, Wapiti Foundation hunters have agreed to manage 26km of stoat trap lines to protect whio in the Worsley and Castle Rivers, within the Milford Operation Ark site. By 2006, 16 whio were found in the Worsley Valley.