Beyond Matuku: A Glimpse into the Future?

Forest and Bird, Issue 306, 1 November 2002, Page 38

Beyond Matuku: A Glimpse into the Future?

Taxpayer-funded ‘mainland islands’ run by the Department of Conservation and various regional councils have already proven that the large-scale predator control needed to achieve mainland restoration is possible. Matuku Reserve is one of many projects that shows community groups can use the ideas developed in the pioneering mainland islands of the 1990s to run their own projects. At 120 hectares, Matuku is considered too small to safely re-introduce some of the species that have become locally extinct in the Waitakere Ranges. However, it could be a stepping stone to creating somewhere this could happen. A small group of dedicated volunteers have been working on plans for a larger ‘mainland island’ -style restoration project near Matuku. ‘The Ark in the Park’ group, inspired by Forest and Bird, would like to see around 1700 hectares of the Waitakere Ranges protected through community-conducted predator control, with the area being expanded as volunteer help becomes available. If successful, their dream would allow species such as robins, whitehead, bellbirds, kokako, kakariki and even kiwi to be successfully returned to the Waitakere Ranges.