Pest control
In November 2006, the Auckland Regional Council accepted that the best way to achieve an open sanctuary in Shakespear Regional Park was to build a pest-proof fence. The Auckland Council was granted resource consent for the pest proof fence in 2009, and the fence was constructed between October 2010 and March 2011.
The fence is 1.7 km long and runs from Army Bay to Okoromai Bay, enclosing an area of about 500 hectares, and cost $750,000. It includes an automatic gate for vehicle access to the Park, while three smaller gates allow pedestrians through. The boat ramp at Army Bay and dog walking areas at Okoromai remain outside the fence.
The Auckland Council was then granted resource consent for the pest animal eradication programme in January 2011. Pest eradication was carried out in July and August 2011, during which time the park was closed to the public. It remained closed for a further 120 days and re-opened in December 2011. All introduced mammalian pests have been removed, except mice.
The Auckland region has multiple species that are declared pests. Some of these species; mice, ship rats, Norway rats, weasels, stoats, ferrets, cats, possums, rabbits and hedgehogs have zero tolerance within the Open Sanctuary. Although all target pests (except mice) have been removed from the Sanctuary there is a constant risk of re-invasion around or through the fence due to the open public access.
The fence is complemented by a system of traps, bait stations, tracking tunnels, thermal imaging and trail cameras throughout the Park, all of which are checked regularly as part of a large pest control operation and surveillance undertaken by ranger staff, volunteers and contractors. Being part of the pest control is a main volunteer activity of SOSSI members, along with routine checks of the integrity of the fence itself.
What’s in the box?
You may see boxes like these throughout the park. The small ones contain a mouse trap, and the larger ones a DOC200 trap with an egg and a chunk of rabbit meat to attract rats and stoats. You might also see long, thin plastic boxes of black plastic – these contain ink-pads to record any little footprints.
The absence of pest animals such as rabbits and possums from the Park means that native plant seedlings are coming up everywhere. Unfortunately, so are the pest plants. Many of the birds that enjoy our bush also enjoy feeding in neighbours’ gardens. Kererū/wood pigeons especially love to return to Shakespear with a crop full of berries from non-native plants for a quiet feed under the canopy of our tallest trees.
Common weeds found in bush areas include Chinese privet, bangalow palms, loquat, monkey apple, woolly nightshade, Japanese honeysuckle, pampas, wild ginger, phoenix, moth plant, smilax, dragon trees and Mexican devil. Some of the ridges in Waterfall Gully and Kōwhai Glen have been infested with hakea, but, between the efforts of contracted weed companies and Shakespear volunteer weeders, there has been good progress on eliminating it.
Many of these weeds have come from private gardens and other areas outside the Park, carried in by wind and birds. You can help by removing them when you find them. See the Weedbusters website and the Auckland Council website for help identifying weeds and information about how best to get rid of them from your property.