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Date: 22 December 2009 Christmas came a couple weeks early for staff and visitors at the Kauaeranga Visitor Centre with the completion of the information and interpretation displays.
Date: 22 December 2009 200 moko skink were returned to Whangamata harbour on the weekend before Christmas in conditions perfect for a release.
Date: 21 December 2009 Two New Zealand fairy tern eggs have gone missing from the Mangawhai Wildlife Refuge (Northland) overnight causing DOC wardens to look into different scenarios as to what has caused the disappearance.
Date: 21 December 2009 The Acheron Road through Molesworth Station is set to open to the public for 14 weeks from Monday 28 December, staying open slightly longer than usual to include Easter.
Date: 17 December 2009 DOC says action it has taken over illegal guiding of a walking tour in Abel Tasman National Park is a reminder that a concession is required for commercial activities in national parks and other conservation areas.
Date: 17 December 2009 An aerial 1080 pest control operation in Kahurangi National Park’s Anatoki River area in October has significantly reduced predator numbers, curbing an expected explosion in rat and stoat numbers, and making the area safer for native wildlife.
Date: 17 December 2009 The breeding season for NZ dotterel on the Coromandel is underway and 24 chicks have fledged their nests already. This is slightly up on last year’s number of 22 for the same time.
Date: 15 December 2009 A new operational plan for St James Station aims to recognise the area’s potential to make a valuable contribution to conservation and recreation.
Date: 15 December 2009 A leopard seal has been an unusual visitor to Tasman Bay in recent months and the Department of Conservation is warning anyone encountering it to keep well away from it for their safety
Date: 07 December 2009 Torrential rain on the night of 4 December caused major damage to facilities at the DOC managed Waikawau Bay campground on the Coromandel Peninsula.
Date: 03 December 2009 They’ve been gone for more than 100 years, but last week, a family of red-crowned parakeets was spotted flying down from the trees in a peaceful gully on Motutapu.
Date: 03 December 2009 Gorse is the target of an aerial weed control operation planned for the Tauherenikau River Valley in the Tararua Forest Park on the first fine, still day before Christmas.
Date: 30 November 2009 The operation undertaken in June 2009 to eradicate rodents from the islands of Ipipiri (eastern Bay of Islands) is starting to show some signs of success a few months afterward.
Date: 30 November 2009 DOC will save taxpayers thousands of dollars thanks to new energy efficiency upgrades planned for campgrounds around the country.
Date: 27 November 2009 Photos that captured an appreciation of Te Tapuwae o Rongokako Marine Reserve’s beauty and value to the community were the winners in the photo competition announced at last weekend’s Family Fun Day.
Date: 26 November 2009 Three charges have been laid against a Kawau Island resident after 14 endangered weka were killed by dogs at Kawau Island Historic Reserve in May this year.
Date: 26 November 2009 More leopard seals than usual have been visiting Napier lately, prompting a message from the Department of Conservation to leave them alone to rest, but tell DOC where they are so their health can be checked, and we can learn more about them.
Date: 25 November 2009 With summer fast approaching and the holiday season not far away, DOC in Rotorua is encouraging people to plan ahead if they are planning fires over the Christmas break.
Date: 23 November 2009 Any application to build an access road to the proposed Milford Sound tunnel will be considered by the Department of Conservation through the normal concessions process.
Date: 23 November 2009 The Department of Conservation today announced outcomes of a review of dusky dolphin watching off the Kaikoura coast that it says will better align tourism activity with the dolphins’ natural behaviour.
Date: 21 November 2009 Source: Office of the Minister of Conservation Conservation Minister Tim Groser is to honour botanist Dr Philip Simpson by presenting him with New Zealand’s premier plant conservation award, the Loder Cup, at a ceremony in Nelson tonight.
Date: 19 November 2009 Source: Pukaha Mount Bruce Board Visitors to Pukaha Mount Bruce will become much more a part of the kiwi conservation experience in a planned $1.5 million upgrade and expansion of the existing nocturnal house and other outdoor facilities at the National Wildlife Centre.
Date: 19 November 2009 Wet feet from stream crossings are a thing of the past on the newly up-graded walking track to the Wentworth Falls in the Coromandel Forest Park, near Whangamata.
Date: 18 November 2009 NZ Dotterels number only 1,700 approximately nationally and this breading season, they appear to be enjoying our Eastern Bay beaches.
Date: 16 November 2009 A well-known New Zealand conservationist, Don Merton, has been given the honour of naming the 100th kākāpō.
Date: 13 November 2009 DOC and the Marine Reserve Committee will celebrate the first 10 years of Te Tapuwae o Rongokako Marine Reserve on Saturday 21 November with a Family Fun Day at the marine reserve.
Date: 12 November 2009 Sixteen juvenile takahē have been released into an extensively trapped area in the Murchison Mountains, Fiordland National Park. This is the largest release of juvenile birds into the Murchison Mountains.
Date: 13 November 2009 Banning poisons from New Zealand would push vulnerable native bird species towards extinction and put our multi-billion dollar dairy and meat industries at unacceptable risk.
Date: 12 November 2009 The Department of Conservation has recently become aware that Napier City Council’s Marineland has breached permit conditions for holding marine mammals, on two counts.
Date: 11 November 2009 It is a busy time for the Whakatane Kiwi Project. It is halfway through the nesting season and every helping hand is appreciated – including a set of paws!
Date: 11 November 2009 The Hon Kate Wilkinson, Associate Minister of Conservation opened the new public shelter and display building on Matakohe/Limestone Island on Tuesday 3 November.
Date: 05 November 2009 This month the public has the opportunity to help the DOC plan for recreation opportunities in Ō Tū Wharekai (Ashburton lakes and upper Rangitata River).
Date: 09 November 2009 A mass of 3,000 pohutukawa trees were planted on Labour Weekend last month as part of the Project Crimson project with over 150 volunteers turning up to get involved in conservation.
Date: 03 November 2009 The Motutapu Outdoor Education Camp was closed for 5 months while DOC undertook a pest-eradication programme to restore Motutapu and Rangitoto, and provide a sanctuary for native wildlife.
Date: 02 November 2009 Wairarapa’s wealth of outdoor attractions and activities are highlighted in a new “glove-box sized” DOC brochure.
Date: 06 October 2009 The River Track along the Tongariro is a favourite mountain biking and walking track linking the Major Jones and Red Hut Bridge footbridges.
Date: 16 October 2009 Once again local Department of Conservation staff joined forces with colleagues from the Hawkes Bay at the very successful 16th Annual Sika Show in Taupo.
Date: 21 October 2009 A concerned local Turangi resident recently called in a sighting to the Department of Conservation of two dead ducklings he had found on a grassy edge in Koura Street.
Date: 02 November 2009 Rotopounamu is a popular walk located 11km from Turangi off SH47. Nestled on the side of Mt Pihanga this beautiful lake is a special favourite of walkers, bird watchers, tree lovers, school groups and families as it’s a great place to take young kids.
Date: 30 October 2009 “Leave seals alone” is the plea from a Wairarapa Department of Conservation officer who, responding to a Labour weekend call-out to a sick seal at Riversdale, found it being prodded with sticks by children, and terrorised by motorcycles and dogs.
Date: 29 October 2009 Access to the scenic reserve on North-Eastern beach of Lake Okareka (formerly known as the Aqua Skiers beach) is closed for the immediate future. The beach front area is under construction with the development of an amenity area for visitors.
Date: 30 October 2009 Illegal landings by yachts, one bringing a dog, marred an otherwise positive Labour weekend on predator-free Matiu/Somes Island in Wellington Harbour, by threatening the biosecurity of the island’s wildlife.
Date: 30 October 2009 The Tararua ranges should resound with increased birdsong as the result of a new pest control programme by the Department of Conservation.
Date: 27 October 2009 Want to do something to protect Northland’s bush from weeds? Raewyn Honeybone has an eye for weeds and the vision to transform Maungakaramea – join her in the work or tell her about weed problems near you.
Date: 23 October 2009 It has been ten years next month since Te Tapuwae o Rongokako Marine Reserve was established. DOC are running a photo competition as part of the ten year anniversary celebrations. The theme is Happy 10th Anniversary Te Tapuwae o Rongokako Marine Reserve.
Date: 27 October 2009 One of the Coromandel’s iconic landscapes changed forever over Labour Weekend when a portion of the archway, colloquially known as the ‘Mare’s leg’, collapsed at Cathedral Cove, Hahei.
Date: 22 October 2009 Sightings of southern right whales off the coast of Te Waewae Bay and Bluff could show the fragile population is recovering.
Date: 23 October 2009 More than 20 volunteers braved strong winds to plant over 1000 harakeke/flax and 150 Ti Kouka/cabbage trees on the south shore of Lake Omapere on Sunday 18 October 2009.
Date: 22 October 2009 Rat numbers are down, and native birds are thriving following a 1080 drop in the Hawdon Valley, latest monitoring results show.
Date: 20 October 2009 As a result of Moko (the bottlenose dolphin) presence in the Waimata and Turanganui Rivers over the weekend Department of Conservation (DOC) again repeats their public warning message about safety.
Date: 20 October 2009 Proving size isn’t everything, the critically endangered kākāpō population has shown their combined pulling power can draw people in from all over the world, after a Youtube video featuring the now famous Sirocco the kākāpō received more than one million hits this weekend.
Date: 19 October 2009 A steady trail of firefighters in overalls of yellow and orange have been interrupting the tranquil beauty of Castle Hill village.
Date: 19 October 2009 More larger-sized blue cod, rock lobster, blue moki and paua have been found inside Long Island–Kokomohua Marine Reserve in Queen Charlotte Sound than outside it in monitoring.
Date: 19 October 2009 Submissions to the Thames Coromandel District Council Draft Dog Control Bylaw by the DOC have resulted in a win-win situation for NZ dotterel on peninsula beaches this summer.
Date: 16 October 2009 Volunteers restoring the health and vitality of Wellington’s natural ecosystems were equipped with skills to plan and monitor their projects at a workshop in the Rimutaka Forest Park last weekend.
Date: 16 October 2009 Source: Office of the Minister of Conservation Conservation Minister Tim Groser today announced DOC is launching a series of pilot projects designed to help improve the way it works with business to deliver conservation gains.
Date: 16 October 2009 Source: Office of the Minister of Conservation Conservation Minister Tim Groser has today announced the allocation of funding grants totalling over $3 million dollars for more than 70 conservation projects across 23 thousand hectares of private land.
Date: 15 October 2009 Source: Office of the Minister of Conservation Conservation Minister Tim Groser has asked the New Zealand Conservation Authority (NZCA) to investigate the creation of a new National Park in Northland.
Date: 16 October 2009 Routine testing of high conservation value freshwater sites has found didymo in the Upper Rangitata River.
Date: 15 October 2009 The guns, tunnels and underground magazines of historic Godley Head will be brought to life at an open day this Sunday as part of Beca Heritage Week.
Date: 16 October 2009 Pohutukawa, sand, BBQ’s and sunshine, all mean one thing, summer on the Coromandel Peninsula. Camping on the Coromandel has only one issue, choosing one of the fifteen DOC campsites to stay at!
Date: 15 October 2009 Three popular visitor lodgings around Wairarapa are set to hit the virtual super highway as they become available to book online, making them more accessible to all.
Date: 15 October 2009 If effort equals reward then the expansive 360-degree views from the summit of Rainbow Mountain are one of the best rewards to be gained by walking to the top – even if the effort just got a little easier.
Date: 15 October 2009 Local community restoration groups are again the big winners as $600,000 is invested in native planting projects throughout the country as a result of the second round of the Community Conservation Fund allocations.
Date: 14 October 2009 Stricter dog control measures are in place at Napier’s Ahuriri Estuary to protect the migratory and resident birds which rely on estuaries for their food.
Date: 15 October 2009 Today marks the five-year anniversary of the discovery of didymo in New Zealand. On 15 October 2004 NIWA scientist Cathy Kilroy first noticed “weird, brown, fungusy stuff” in the Lower Waiau River in Southland.
Date: 18 September 2009 The Canterbury Aoraki Conservation Board Awards took place on Friday 18 September 2009 with two very different finalists going head to head for the top spot.
Date: 11 September 2009 Associate Minister of Conservation, Hon. Kate Wilkinson, officially opened the Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park’s refurbished and extended visitor centre today.
Date: 12 October 2009 A desirable waterfront property development with a difference has given hope to endangered Australasian crested grebe/kāmana at Ashburton Lakes, thanks to Hassle-free Tours.
Date: 08 October 2009 Local community restoration groups are again the big winners as $600,000 is invested in native planting projects throughout the country as a result of the second round of the Community Conservation Fund allocations, Director General of Conservation Al Morrison announced today.
Date: 02 October 2009 An issue with a woman not being able to get back inshore at Mahia while playing with Moko (bottlenose dolphin) earlier this year, which resulted in the woman having mild hypothermia, has prompted a warning from DOC staff.
Date: 01 October 2009 DOC advises the public that an upgrade of Te Waiti Hut in the Urutawa Conservation Area, Opotiki has been completed.
Date: 23 September 2009 In keeping with the theme, get involved and who knows, Friday, 18 September 2009 marked the last day of this year’s Conservation Week activities on the East Coast. A pilot initiative to establish a traditional Maori medicine (rongoa) garden took place at Pokai Marae, Tikapa, Ruatoria.
Date: 05 October 2009 Source: Office of the Minister of Conservation Associate Minister of Conservation Hon Kate Wilkinson has announced this year's appointments to the Auckland Conservation Board.
Date: 05 October 2009 One of New Zealand’s most historic lighthouse reserves has been upgraded and will be officially opened on Saturday 10 October.
Date: 05 October 2009 Marine life at Te Whanganui-A-Hei (Cathedral Cove) Marine Reserve is thriving, but it still needs your help says the DOC's marine ranger Andy Wills.
Date: 25 September 2009 A heavy lift helicopter put the finishing touches on five years of work by Department of Conservation in the Waiorongomai Valley, near Te Aroha.
Date: 02 October 2009 Cute as a button and lucky to be alive, a Haast Tokoeka kiwi chick has cheated certain death thanks to an intricate operation at Willowbank Wildlife Reserve in Christchurch.
Date: 02 October 2009 Over winter the amenity blocks at the Peel Forest Campground, at Peel Forest northwest of Geraldine, have been given a $300,000 facelift.
Date: 30 September 2009 As part of research to discover exactly how penguins were exposed to brodifacoum, the Department of Conservation has commissioned further tests on penguin samples.
Date: 30 September 2009 Ten kokako flew to the southern part of the South Island in a less than conventional manner today after boarding an Air New Zealand flight this morning in Rotorua.
Date: 29 September 2009 Source: Office of the Minister of Conservation Associate Minister of Conservation Hon Kate Wilkinson today announced this year’s appointments to the Chatham Islands Conservation Board.
Date: 29 September 2009 The Department of Conservation is urging Waiheke Island environmental group Ocean Aware to have samples of marine birds, oysters and dog vomit independently tests by accredited laboratories.
Date: 29 September 2009 Source: Office of the Minister of Conservation Associate Minister of Conservation Hon Kate Wilkinson today announced this year’s appointments for the Waikato Conservation Board.
Date: 29 September 2009 Source: Office of the Minister of Conservation Associate Minister of Conservation Hon Kate Wilkinson today announced this year’s appointments to the Tongariro/Taupo Conservation Board.
Date: 29 September 2009 Source: Office of the Minister of Conservation Associate Minister of Conservation Hon Kate Wilkinson today announced this year’s appointments to the Taranaki/Whanganui Conservation Board.
Date: 29 September 2009 Source: Office of the Minister of Conservation Associate Minister of Conservation Hon Kate Wilkinson today announced this year’s appointments to the Southland Conservation Board.
Date: 29 September 2009 Source: Office of the Minister of Conservation Associate Minister of Conservation Hon Kate Wilkinson today announced this year’s appointments to the Otago Conservation Board.
Date: 29 September 2009 Source: Office of the Minister of Conservation Associate Minister of Conservation Hon Kate Wilkinson today announced this year’s appointments to the Nelson/Marlborough Conservation Board.
Date: 29 September 2009 Source: Office of the Minister of Conservation Associate Minister of Conservation, Hon Kate Wilkinson today announced this year’s appointments for the Canterbury Aoraki Conservation Board.
Date: 29 September 2009 Source: Office of the Minister of Conservation Associate Minister of Conservation Hon Kate Wilkinson today announced this year's appointments to the West Coast Tai Poutini Conservation Board.
Date: 29 September 2009 Source: Office of the Minister of Conservation Associate Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson today announced the appointment of three new members to the Northland Conservation Board.
Date: 25 September 2009 Source: Office of the Minister of Conservation Associate Minister of Conservation Kate Wilkinson has welcomed the release today of a discussion paper outlining plans to establish a Big Game Hunting Council.
Date: 28 September 2009 Knowledge gleaned about Wellington’s marine environment over more than century, has been brought together in an interactive CD, to help guide decision makers.
Date: 24 September 2009 Independent laboratory tests on dolphins that died recently in the Hauraki Gulf have come back negative for demoic acid.
Date: 24 September 2009 Community conservation groups in the Waikato could be in for some relief from the tough financial times with the opening of the Department of Conservation’s Waikato Community Conservation Fund.
Date: 22 September 2009 Independent laboratory texts on dolphins that died recently in the Hauraki Gulf have come back negative for brodifacoum (rat poison).
Date: 21 September 2009 Preparations are underway to use aerial 1080 operations to protect bats, mohua and parakeets from an expanding rodent phenomenon occurring at three West Coast sites.
Date: 17 September 2009 A ground-breaking, New Zealand-designed self-setting trap is about to enter the pest control battle – providing urgently-needed support for endangered birds such as kiwi.
Date: 16 September 2009 Kokako birds are being moved from Kaharoa to Fiordland this week as part of a major translocation operation by DOC, enabled by the Kaharoa Kokako Trust.
Date: 16 September 2009 Source: Office of the Minister of Conservation A breakthrough in self-setting trap technology unveiled today will provide urgently-needed, bush level protection for endangered birds like the kiwi says Conservation Minister Tim Groser.
Date: 16 September 2009 An eclectic mix of artists, scientists, local councillors and conservationists gathered at Te Manawa’s Museum / Science Centre on Friday 11th September to mark the opening of the gallery’s newest exhibition, ‘Slugs, Snails & Spider Tales: A Closer Look at Conservation’.
Date: 16 September 2009 Steve Pilkington and Stuart Penny are the 2009 Conservation Award winners in the Palmerston North Area.
Date: 15 September 2009 Around 100 people celebrated the opening of an eco-centre to support Project Island Song, and the results of the operation to remove pests from the eastern Bay of Islands islands.
Date: 11 September 2009 Communication has been a key part of the planning for the upcoming aerial 1080 possum control operation in Egmont National Park.
Date: 08 September 2009 Get involved at an open day on Saturday 12 September 2009 at the DOC Ohakune Field Centre from 9.30am.
Date: 07 September 2009 Events involving a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the worlds rarest parrot, to 900 school children linking hands to promote marine protection are just some of the events planned for Conservation Week 2009.
Date: 04 September 2009 For the price of a nasty weed, Wellingtonians can create a little luxury for lizards in their gardens during Conservation Week (September 13-20),
Date: 03 September 2009 DOC said today it has reached agreement with TrustPower on proposed amended resource consent conditions that address the department’s concerns about the company’s proposed Wairau River hydro-electricity scheme.
Date: 03 September 2009 Demand has been higher than usual for a camping spot at Totaranui during the Christmas-New Year period and DOC says unfortunately not everyone wanting to stay then can be accommodated.
Date: 28 August 2009 The islands in the Eastern Bay of Islands are now rat-free islands and open to all - except pests!
Date: 02 September 2009 The DOC Kerikeri Shadehouse volunteers have just celebrated the growing of native plant number 100,000.
Date: 02 September 2009 A portal into Wellington’s colourful past will be opened to the public during Conservation Week. DOC is opening up the historic places that it manages in the city on Sunday 13 September, to launch the annual week of celebrations in style.
Date: 31 August 2009 The last five kākāpō chicks have been released from their temporary outdoor pens and are now roaming free on Whenua hou (Codfish Island).
Date: 02 September 2009 The Department of Conservation is concerned about recent dolphin deaths in the Hauraki Gulf, and has commissioned toxicology tests to try to determine how they died.
Date: 01 September 2009 The Department of Conservation (DOC) and its research partners have discovered new links between southern right whales from the Sub-antarctic Auckland Islands and the mainland of New Zealand.
Date: 21 August 2009 Matapihi locals received a rare treat last Friday when they encountered an immature Leopard seal snoozing on the edge of the Waimapu Estuary, near Tauranga Airport.
Date: 27 August 2009 Gordon Park Scenic Reserve has had large amounts of household rubbish and garden waste dumped in the car park and tracks recently.
Date: 25 August 2009 Department of Conservation staff and volunteers attending the Onoke Spit beach clean-up last Friday were dismayed to find that the historic wreck of the ship Addenda had been vandalised during the previous week.
Date: 25 August 2009 In preparation for the Caspian tern breeding season, Wairarapa’s Onoke spit has been cleared of rubbish posing a threat to wildlife, including tangled fishing line, wire, tyres, and even a fridge.
Date: 24 August 2009 The start of the seal pup weaning season - and a pup "rescue" attempt - has prompted a reminder from the Department of Conservation that seals are resilient and usually best left to their own devices.
Date: 20 August 2009 Research into the outcomes for kea of aerial 1080 predator control operations has found all kea monitored during a recent aerial 1080 operation in Kahurangi National Park survived.
Date: 14 August 2009 Ever seen a fish climb out of a bucket? For some of our more threatened freshwater species, that’s exactly the escape they attempt.
Date: 13 August 2009 A New Zealand sea lion and a leopard seal have been found dead on the same stretch of Southland coastline.
Date: 17 August 2009 Scientists surveying endangered parea (Chatham Islands pigeon) last week were surprised to find that the population had increased to around 500, from a population low of 40 in the late 1980s.
Date: 12 August 2009 A large number of little blue penguins washing up on our shores have had authorities and the public concerned, however tests show that the Tauranga deaths are just part of nature’s cycle.
Date: 13 August 2009 Volunteers are invited to help “spring clean” Wairarapa’s prized Onoke Spit, a nesting site of Caspian terns, home to the rare red katipo spider and a threatened moth, and a magnet for outdoor enthusiasts.
Date: 14 August 2009 Feedback is sought from the public and outdoor recreation groups on a proposal to extend the Te Araroa trail through the western side of the Tararua Forest Park, including the currently untracked Oriwa ridge.
Date: 11 August 2009 DOC has released a new management plan to help the recovery of the endangered New Zealand Sea Lion.
Date: 11 August 2009 Whitebait season in the Bay of Plenty starts this Saturday 15th August and DOC is urging fishers to protect the fishery for future generations by complying with the regulations.
Date: 10 August 2009 New Zealanders can again take up the much-loved Kiwi pastime of whitebaiting from Saturday 15 August when the whitebait fishing season starts around most of New Zealand.
Date: 10 August 2009 High possum numbers in Waitutu Forest, Fiordland National Park are having a significant impact on the forest’s unique biodiversity.
Date: 10 August 2009 The Department of Conservation is strongly advising people not to swim or interact with Moko, Mahia’s bottlenose dolphin, who is likely to be more aggressive now that he has grown out of playful childhood into adolescence.
Date: 07 August 2009 A digital photo competition and exhibition called ‘Postcards from a park’ celebrates and highlights the different ways people use our parks and reserves in Canterbury.
Date: 06 August 2009 One of the kiwi re-introduced by the community into the Rimutaka Forest Park has been killed by a dog, highlighting the importance of keeping dogs on a lead in the park.
Date: 23 July 2009 The Department of Conservation says a research project has provided important information for the management of native land snails collected from the Mt Augustus Mine on the Stockton Plateau.
Date: 03 August 2009 Source: Office of the Minister of Conservation Conservation Minister Tim Groser today announced the start of a review of a range of funds which provide public funding for conservation on private land.
Date: 18 July 2009 Sending your young ones off to preschool is hard for any parent, even when they are kiwi chicks, discovered Associate Minister of Conservation Kate Wilkinson.
Date: 29 July 2009 A proposal to zone Canterbury’s public conservation land for different levels of aircraft access has been released for public comment by the Department of Conservation today.
Date: 31 July 2009 Juvenile seals have started coming ashore on Canterbury beaches, with the first reported sightings of young seals sparking several phone calls to DOC's emergency hotline.
Date: 29 July 2009 Members of the public are invited to join Department of Conservation staff and members of the Taupo Girl Guides to plant 3000 trees at Whakaipo Bay, Sunday 9 August 2009.
Date: 29 July 2009 270 dead predators and counting … since local business people, lead by Garth Oakden of Tongariro River Rafting and Craig Morey of Parklands Motel set up the Blue Duck Project Charitable Trust to protect the rare and endangered Whio on the Tongariro River.
Date: 29 July 2009 Source: Office of the Minister of Conservation Nelson botanist Dr. Philip Simpson has been awarded one of New Zealand’s highest conservation honours for his ongoing work with native plants, Conservation Minister Tim Groser announced today.
Date: 29 July 2009 DOC is seeking feedback on the future management of St James Conservation Area by 14 September.
Date: 27 July 2009 Ignorance was ruled as no excuse last Friday in the Tauranga District Court, where fines and costs totalling $1650 were imposed on three men caught fishing in the Tuhua (Mayor Island) Marine Reserve last January.
Date: 21 July 2009 A rare dolphin residing in Wellington Harbour has been confirmed as a male Hector’s dolphin.
Date: 21 July 2009 A young New Zealand falcon or karearea has taken up residence on the outskirts of Palmerston North.
Date: 21 July 2009 The Department of Conservation is seeking public comment on the draft national Wild Animal Recovery Operation (WARO) concession permit by 19 August.
Date: 17 June 2009 Source: Office of the Minister of Conservation A public invitation to interested agencies and organisations from Hon Tim Groser, Minister of Conservation for appointments to the Queen Elizabeth the Second National Trust.
Date: 15 July 2009 Departmental staff are still finding these precious birds dead because of dog predation, and dog owners need to take more responsibility when in areas known to have whio populations.
Date: 15 July 2009 Wellington’s south coast roads are proving perilous for little blue penguins, with three killed by motorists last weekend.
Date: 13 July 2009 Tuesday the 14th of July is expected to be busy for the Department of Conservation (DOC) Great Walks team in Te Anau as bookings open for the world famous Milford, Routeburn and Kepler Tracks.
Date: 10 July 2009 The last four kākāpō chicks have returned home to Codfish Island (Whenuahou) from the hand-rearing facility in Invercargill.
Date: 09 July 2009 DOC is close to solving one very large mystery. DOC is working towards cracking the genetic code of the nationally endangered southern right whale (tohora) using biopsy samples.
Date: 09 July 2009 Staff from the Department of Conservation have released a wild kiwi back into the bush near Whakapapa village just a week after it was hit by a car late last Friday evening.
Date: 09 July 2009 Rangitoto and Motutapu islands are closed to the public for the second of three aerial rodent bait applications.
Date: 08 July 2009 Some of Northland’s most spectacular natural features are highlighted in a new report on the natural features of the Kaipara Ecological District.
Date: 06 July 2009 Quail Island/Ōtamahua will be closed to the public from 10-31 July while a planned mouse eradication takes place.
Date: 02 July 2009 The captive breeding programme at the Pukaha Mount Bruce National Wildlife Centre will continue to protect endangered New Zealand wildlife, says the Department of Conservation.
Date: 22 June 2009 The Department of Conservation has concluded the second of two aerial drops of rat poison in preparation for Project Island Song, a community-driven initiative to restore native birds and plants to the islands.
Date: 01 July 2009 The public is being invited to comment on draft provisions in a partial review of the Kahurangi National Park Management Plan, including proposals to trial mountain biking on the Heaphy Track during the five-month winter visitor season and year-round on two other tracks.
Date: 30 June 2009 Source: Office of the Minister of Conservation Acting Minister of Conservation Kate Wilkinson has thanked the members of the East Coast Hawke's Bay Conservation Board for their hard work, with the board to be disestablished with effect from today due to a reconfiguration of boundaries.
Date: 29 June 2009 Rangitoto and Motutapu islands are now open to the public again after the first successful phase of a three-stage rat baiting operation.
Date: 26 June 2009 Department of Conservation staff made several trips to Bluff this week in response to a New Zealand sea lion coming ashore along Marine Parade.
Date: 25 June 2009 DOC is calling on the Wanganui and South Taranaki public to keep an eye out for sightings of nationally endangered southern right whale.
Date: 25 June 2009 A great turnout of volunteers at a community restoration project last weekend ensured over 1200 native sand-binding grasses were put into the dunes at Tangimoana Beach.
Date: 25 June 2009 The Minister of Conservation calls for nominations for membership of the East Coast/Bay of Plenty and Wellington/Hawke’s Bay Conservation Boards.
Date: 24 June 2009 The Department of Conservation is requesting help from the public to identify persons responsible for a deliberate act of vandalism that damaged the new hut at Rodger Inlet on Lake Monowai.
Date: 23 June 2009 Over 100 community members from Opotiki and Gisborne braved chilling wind on Saturday 20 June to celebrate the opening of ‘The Waioeka Journey – Te Awa a Tamatea’.
Date: 23 June 2009 Kiwi horse lovers dug deep this year, despite the recession, to ensure as many horses as possible were re-homed.
Date: 18 June 2009 The weather-window is finally right for DOC to begin the first stage of the ambitious plan to remove the remaining pests from Rangitoto and Motutapu islands over the coming months.
Date: 18 June 2009 Aspiring young rangers are being offered the chance try their hand at tracking pests, monitoring wildlife, maintaining tracks and facilities, talking to the public and generally getting out into the great outdoors in Wellington’s parks and reserves.
Date: 17 June 2009 The new Atiwhakatu Hut in the eastern Tararua Forest Park is now open, offering warmth and comfort to people overnighting in this popular outdoor location.
Date: 11 June 2009 The Department of Conservation has received numerous calls from people who have found exhausted seabirds blown off course.
Date: 15 June 2009 The Manawatu Branch of the New Zealand Deerstalkers Association (NZDA) has been granted funding to write a ten year protection plan for Whio (blue duck) in the Oroua catchment.
Date: 11 June 2009 Find out more about one of the most cultural, spiritual and ecologically significant areas in New Zealand in a new report just published by the Department of Conservation.
Date: 11 June 2009 Department of Conservation researchers and former whalers are again about to start their winter watch for humpback whales moving through Cook Strait.
Date: 05 June 2009 The Department of Conservation (DOC) and NZ Transport Agency invite Opotiki and Gisborne community members to the official opening of ‘The Waioeka Journey – Te Awa a Tamatea’, on 20th June 2009.
Date: 03 June 2009 The South Taupo wetland restoration planting project began on Tuesday 26th May with the local DOC Women's Network and volunteers from the Tongariro Natural History Society planting the first 800 plants.
Date: 03 June 2009 Eradicating rats from Ipipiri in the eastern Bay of Islands has begun with an aerial drop of brodifacoum poison.
Date: 29 May 2009 Several Bay of Plenty and Waikato iwi have come together to loan four North Island brown kiwi to Tuhua (Mayor) Island and Te Whanau a Tauwhao, helping to secure the long term survival of the species in the region.
Date: 29 May 2009 A Picton man has been fined $1000 as a result of a weka being captured in a possum trap he set on the ground in breach of trapping permit conditions.
Date: 29 May 2009 There is no shortage of local heroes doing their bit for conservation in Canterbury and now is the time for them to receive recognition for their efforts.
Date: 28 May 2009 A Richmond man has been fined $1500 on a second conviction for using whitebait fishing gear illegally.
Date: 28 May 2009 With large numbers of mountain bikers and four-wheel drivers expected to hit the tracks in Mackenzie Basin over the long weekend, DOC is asking all wheel enthusiasts to be didymo aware.
Date: 22 May 2009 The Department of Conservation has been named the public service’s top energy manager at New Zealand’s premier energy efficiency awards.
Date: 22 May 2009 Keen Forest and Bird volunteers invested 147 rata years in the Manawatu Gorge Scenic Reserve within a couple of hours last weekend.
Date: 21 May 2009 Seventeen remote Department of Conservation island sites will be fitted with solar hot water systems this year in a move that will cut DOC’s island hot water energy bill by about 80 percent.
Date: 20 May 2009 Seventeen remote DOC island sites will be fitted with solar hot water systems this year in a move that will cut DOC’s island hot water energy bill by about 80 percent.
Date: 19 May 2009 DOC is calling on the public to keep an eye out and report sightings of southern right whales which are starting to move along the New Zealand coastline.
Date: 18 May 2009 Kiwi living on private land in Northland are among the big winners from new conservation investment totalling more than $2.5 million allocated through the Government’s Biodiversity Funds.
Date: 19 May 2009 Lost hunting dogs wreaking havoc in Whanganui National Park
Date: 19 May 2009 Improvements are being made to two of Wairarapa’s most popular walkways - the Castlepoint Lighthouse Track and the Rimutaka Incline.
Date: 18 May 2009 'Staying Safe - Managing Volcanic Risk on Mt Ruapehu' is a new DVD launched on 14 May 2009. It provides easy to follow information on what we want to know about volcanic hazards and what ski area patrons should do.
Date: 14 May 2009 A milestone has been achieved in a 30-year effort to restore the habitat for the Chatham Islands black robin, one of the world’s most famous and endangered birds.
Date: 08 May 2009 Ever thought of adopting a Kaimanawa horse? If so, now is the time to get your application in, with the 2009 muster scheduled for early June.
Date: 06 May 2009 South Island robins are due to be released onto Abel Tasman National Park’s Adele Island this week, leading off the return to the island of native wildlife that once lived there.
Date: 06 May 2009 DOC campgrounds on Urupukapuka and Moturua Islands in the Eastern Bay of Islands will be closed for at least two months from 4pm Sunday 24 May 2009 in preparation for Project Island Song.
Date: 04 May 2009 DOC says agreements it negotiates with project developers through resource consent hearings are carefully targeted to address the adverse environmental impacts of those developments.
Date: 30 April 2009 Back country huts in Whirinaki Forest Park will continue to be maintained to high levels under a new agreement between the Rotorua Branch of New Zealand Deerstalkers Association and Department of Conservation.
Date: 01 May 2009 You could spend an awful long time looking for an axe buried in Whirinaki Forest Park. But come September, that’s exactly what organisers of the Whirinaki25 community event are hoping to find.
Date: 30 April 2009 Abel Tasman National Park’s Gibb’s Hill Track this week becomes the first Nelson national park track that can be mountain biked with mountain bikers able to ride it for 5 months from Friday, 1 May.
Date: 01 May 2009 Source: Office of the Minister of Conservation Associate Minister of Conservation Kate Wilkinson will embark on a hands-on inspection of the Kakapo Recovery Programme on Whenua Hou (Codfish Island) this weekend.
Date: 24 April 2009 Sure, they're not ducks, but the North Island robins that were released at Moehau two weeks ago seem to have taken to their new home well - just like water off a duck's back, in fact.
Date: 22 April 2009 Source: Office of the Minister of Conservation Conservation Minister Tim Groser today announced changes to the boundary of the Oteake Conservation Park to exclude a 195 hectare area over the Hawkdun lignite deposit - a significant resource of recoverable energy.
Date: 22 April 2009 Despite all the doom and gloom, the recession hasn’t affected all Kiwi families.
Date: 22 April 2009 Te Kahui Kaupeka Conservation Park, the fifth conservation park in the Canterbury high country, is now officially open.
Date: 21 April 2009 Source: Office of the Minister of Conservation New Zealanders, tourists and native wildlife are the big winners with the historic addition of the Te Kahui Kaupeka Conservation Park to Canterbury's public land.
Date: 16 April 2009 A new fish pass has been created at Pukepuke Lagoon with help from local contractors.
Date: 16 April 2009 A re-assessment of the conservation status of NZ’s birds has revealed both losses and gains. The review was undertaken by a panel of experts, to help identify those species most in need of help.
Date: 15 April 2009 The Department of Conservation (DOC) advises that car park construction at Gray’s Bush Scenic Reserve near Gisborne is completed so people can now access the reserve.
Date: 15 April 2009 Mana Island and Zealandia, the focus of world-leading conservation initiatives, are among the top 25 ecological restoration sites in Australia and New Zealand.
Date: 15 April 2009 Te Urewera Mainland Island near Opotiki has been recognised as one of the top 25 ecological restoration sites in Australia and New Zealand.
Date: 15 April 2009 The Department of Conservation’s Rotoiti Nature Recovery Project in Nelson Lakes National Park has been recognised as one of Australasia’s top 25 ecological restoration projects.
Date: 15 April 2009 Five DOC projects have been chosen by a panel of international experts to join the list of the top ecological restoration programmes underway in Australia and New Zealand.
Date: 09 April 2009 Plans for the successful re-introduction of the North island robin, or toutouwai, onto Moehau moved another step forward this week with birds being captured in special traps in Pureora Forest Park.
Date: 09 April 2009 Twenty one kākāpō chicks have been taken to a special hand-rearing facility in Invercargill to secure their chances of survival.
Date: 06 April 2009 A management plan for Te Waikoropupū Springs is now in place setting out how the internationally important Golden Bay site will be managed for the next 10 years.
Date: 30 March 2009 There's a unique type of field training underway in the Pureora Forest Park this week. Teams began training North Island robin/toutouwai, in preparation for the transfer of birds to Moehau.
Date: 30 March 2009 Visitors to the northern Coromandel could soon be hearing the clear chirping song of one of New Zealand’s protected birds, the North island robin, or toutouwai.
Date: 31 March 2009 Local community restoration groups are the big winners as $1 million is invested in native planting projects throughout the country as a result of the first round of the Community Conservation Fund allocations.
Date: 30 March 2009 Mountain bikes have done a considerable amount of damage to the Manawatu Gorge Track
Date: 27 March 2009 More than 100 pilot whales are dead after they stranded on an isolated beach at Mairangi, on the north east of Chatham Island late yesterday evening.
Date: 27 March 2009 Source: Office of the Minister of Conservation Conservation Minister Tim Groser today officially opened the upgraded Pukaha Mt Bruce National Wildlife Centre and marked the occasion by releasing a young brown kiwi into the Pukaha forest.
Date: 20 March 2009 More than 300 submissions have been received by the Department of Conservation on the two draft planning documents for Stewart Island/ Rakiura.
Date: 20 March 2009 Source: Office of the Minister of Conservation Up to ten little spotted kiwi will have a new home in the Hauraki Gulf on Saturday when they are released on Motuihe Island, says Conservation Minister Tim Groser.
Date: 18 March 2009 A decision on the future of the Aniwaniwa Visitor Centre in Te Urewera National Park is on hold pending the outcome of Crown Treaty negotiations with Tuhoe
Date: 17 March 2009 Didymo has been confirmed in six more waterways in Nelson, including the Waimea River, in the annual survey in Nelson, Marlborough and Kaikoura to determine the algae’s spread.
Date: 13 March 2009 The Department of Conservation advises that due to construction work, the carpark at Gray’s Bush Scenic Reserve near Gisborne will be closed between 16th and 30th of March, 2009.
Date: 13 March 2009 The success of an open day held on Sunday 8 March at Morere Hot Springs north of Wairoa, has prompted plans of making it an annual event.
Date: 16 March 2009 Rachael Thorp plays down the fact that she was the only female among the first contingent of 52 New Zealand firefighters to help fight the devastating Victorian fires in February.
Date: 13 March 2009 The Department of Conservation will not be increasing fees for huts and campgrounds on public conservation land this year.
Date: 11 March 2009 The Department of Conservation (DOC) is cranking up efforts around Northland to identify and get rid of these tough, persistent pest fish and it needs public help to do so.
Date: 11 March 2009 Source: Office of the Minister of Conservation Conservation Minister Tim Groser says the long running campaign to save the kakapo has reached a new milestone today with confirmation that the population of threatened birds has cracked through the 100 mark.
Date: 09 March 2009 Streamsides were planted and dunes weeded in the Wairarapa during Seaweek (1-8 March) , highlighting the connections between the land and sea.
Date: 05 March 2009 The submission deadline for two draft conservation planning documents for Stewart Island/Rakiura is fast approaching.
Date: 05 March 2009 A beach clean-up at Turakirae on Wellington’s rugged south coast yesterday eliminated a couple of truckloads of rubbish with the potential to harm marine wildlife.
Date: 04 March 2009 As the first New Zealand contingent of fire fighters return from the Australian bush, a team of staff from the Tongariro/Taupo conservancy are deploying to fire ravaged Victoria.
Date: 04 March 2009 Seaweek got off to a drizzly start for some on Sunday with many local kids making their way to Castlecliff beach children’s playground where the Seaweek adventures began.
Date: 02 March 2009 Seaweek is an annual, week long celebration of New Zealand’s marine environment, and offers people from all walks of life the chance to revel in the beauty, diversity and significance of our coast.
Date: 27 February 2009 Department of Conservation staff in the Tongariro Forest kiwi sanctuary have increased efforts to catch rogue ferrets killing kiwi in the area.
Date: 27 February 2009 It will be heads down, tails up at New Zealand's beaches next week, as thousands of people take part in Seaweek activities all around the country.
Date: 26 February 2009 The Kākāpō Recovery effort is one step closer to bringing the world’s kākāpō population to 100 after the successful hatching of two kākāpō chicks.
Date: 25 February 2009 New study reveals what New Zealand fur seals eat around the Banks Peninsula.
Date: 17 February 2009 DOC is aware of the kite-boarding activity at Ruakaka Wildlife Refuge and is concerned about the impact on wildlife. DOC has been working toward solutions for the last two years.
Date: 20 February 2009 Source: Office of the Minister of Conservation The Department of Conservation needs to ensure a greater degree of transparency in agreements reached over resource consents, Acting Conservation Minister Nick Smith says.
Date: 17 February 2009 DOC staff are seeking assistance from the public to find the person who attempted to set fire to an area of Waioeka Gorge Scenic Reserve.
Date: 17 February 2009 Recent rain at Mahia allowed workers dousing hot spots from the fire that started on 1 February to go home, but DOC staff are monitoring the area.
Date: 16 February 2009 The Acheron Road through Molesworth Station is to re-open next Monday (23 February 2009) after heavy rainfall reduced the fire danger in the area.
Date: 16 February 2009 The Department of Conservation is totally rejecting claims that “DOC’s silence was bought” over Meridian Energy’s Project Hayes windfarm proposal.
Date: 10 February 2009 It has been a busy couple of months for the kākāpō recovery team. Here is an update of what has been happening.
Date: 10 February 2009 A male kākāpō last seen 21 years ago on Whenua Hou/Codfish Island, just off Stewart Island, has been rediscovered, adding his genetics to the small but increasing kākāpō population.
Date: 10 February 2009 The Department of Conservation is looking to send up to a dozen trained DOC fire fighters to help Australian fire crews battling the Victorian bushfires.
Date: 09 February 2009 In making an emergency landing on Kaitorete Spit, a Cherokee plane triggered a blaze across 55 hectares of tinder-dry land.
Date: 05 February 2009 Waterway users at Ō Tū Wharekai wetlands only have to slip up once to lose their playground to the unpleasant consequences of didymo - but it cannot get there unaided.
Date: 05 February 2009 Illegal release of sika deer in the eastern Bay of Plenty has DOC staff concerned at the threat to local forests.
Date: 05 February 2009 Whanganui has an estuary to be proud of, and it is likely to be ranked among the best tidal river mouth estuaries in the country.
Date: 04 February 2009 DOC is joining Federated Farmers and the Animal Health Board in seeking to meet with the Westland District Council to clarify the Council’s concerns about 1080 operations near water supplies.
Date: 05 February 2009 The desire of a local farming couple to beautify a pond with goldfish has resulted in a major pest fish problem, with a muddy bog all that remains.
Date: 03 February 2009 Co-operation of various fire crews and great support from local communities have been vital to the success of fire-fighting efforts at Mahia.
Date: 03 February 2009 Find out about the latest updates at the Mahia fire in Gisborne.
Date: 01 February 2009 Fire fighters at Mahia are concerned that a predicted southerly wind will fan a blaze that damaged six buildings and caused evacuations of houses in the area.
Date: 03 February 2009 The Awarua Waituna Community Advisory Groups’ (AWAG) initiative to improve water quality in their local wetlands catchment has seen nearly 50km of fencing installed.
Date: 02 February 2009 For the second season whio (blue duck) ducklings are on display in Wairarapa, while they learn outdoor survival skills in the safety of the Pukaha Mount Bruce National Wildlife Centre
Date: 30 January 2009 One of the world's smallest and rarest dolphins has paid a surprise visit to Wellington Harbour, delighting onlookers and exciting DOC marine mammal experts.
Date: 29 January 2009 A rare Gray’s beaked whale which stranded and subsequently died on a Kapiti beach this week may have been nursing a calf.
Date: 26 January 2009 Saturday 14 February will see the many years of fundraising, planning and restoration come to fruition, with the reopening of the viaduct to visitors’, says TNHS Director Sarah Gibb.
Date: 22 January 2009 Flagrant disregard for the boundaries of the Eastern Bay of Plenty’s only marine reserve, Te Paepae o Aotea (Volkner Rocks), has tarred the Whakatane Tuna Tournament.
Date: 28 January 2009 A text message that Te Tapuwae o Rongokako Marine Reserve near Gisborne will open for fishing is a hoax.
Date: 28 January 2009 The Acheron Road through Molesworth Station will be closed from 7pm Monday 2 February unless enough rain falls before then to reduce the high fire risk in the area.
Date: 27 January 2009 DOC researchers are investigating a significant decline in New Zealand sea lion pups born this breeding season.
Date: 20 January 2009 A seal severely injured and being strangled by packaging tape was put down by Department of Conservation staff in the Wairarapa last week.
Date: 19 January 2009 The Department of Conservation is investigating a cluster of short-tailed bat deaths in the Pureora Forest Park area.
Date: 16 January 2009 The Department of Conservation and Horizons Regional Council have launched the largest new biodiversity initiative in New Zealand, Kia Wharite.
Date: 16 January 2009 Beach goers on the Hauraki Gulf island of Motuihe will soon be sharing the sand with some scaly companions, with the release of 70 shore skinks on Sunday.
Date: 14 January 2009 At least one fertile kakapo egg has been laid on Whenua Hou/Codfish Island, signalling the start of the kakapo breeding season.
Date: 14 January 2009 Due to leaking and ice damage, Syme Hut on Fanthans Peak, Mt Taranaki has had its roof replaced.
Date: 14 January 2009 Four hundred and sixty cubic metres of track metal will fall from the sky in the Manawatu Gorge over the next few weeks, in a mission to upgrade the popular 10 kilometre walking track.
Date: 13 January 2009 It would appear that one of Eastern Bay’s favourite little birds, the little blue penguin, have been also been seen enjoying our beaches, especially over the last week.
Date: 12 January 2009 DOC is shocked with the discovery of rats on two Island Nature Reserves near Whangarei.
Date: 09 January 2009 Source: Office of the Minister of Conservation DOC will review its safety procedures at Fox Glacier after yesterday's tragedy in which two Australian tourists died in an ice fall at the toe of the glacier, says Conservation Minister Tim Groser.
Date: 08 January 2009 Potential for ‘dolphin-watching rage’ to occur in crowds trying to see Moko, the star attraction at Mahia, has prompted a warning from DOC staff.
Date: 08 January 2009 More than two and a half thousand Aucklanders gave up their lunchtime to come face to face with a great white shark this afternoon.
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