19-E-0529 DOC-6035120
27 September 2019
Tracy Livingston
Via fyi.org
Dear Ms Livingston
I refer to your official information requests of 4 and 5 August 2019 seeking
information on the Dart Caples 1080 operation.
Our letter of 14 August 2019 advised that we have transferred part of your request to
Queenstown Lakes District Council. This letter forms the Department’s response.
Monitoring data
You asked:
What ecological testing has been carried out prior to this aerial poison
operation - Dart, Routeburn and Caples Valleys August 2019? Please include
current and up to date rat, mice, mustelid numbers, white tail deer and Red
deer numbers. Please include current and up to date native bird species
counts.
There is no deer monitoring carried out in the Dart, Routeburn, Caples area.
Monitoring of rodents and mustelids is undertaken in the Dart, Routeburn, Caples
area using tracking tunnels. More information on this method is available on our
website at:
https://www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets/documents/science-and-
technical/inventory-monitoring/im-toolbox-animal-pests-using-tracking-tunnels-
to-monitor-rodents-and-mustelids.pdf
Rodent monitoring
The following table shows the most recent rodent monitoring:
Dart – mean tracking rate
Caples – mean tracking rate
May 2019
August 2019
May 2019
August 2019
Rats
23%
25%
17%
12%
Mice
6%
52%
0%
17%
Conservation House -
Whare Kaupapa Atawhai
PO Box 10 420, Wel ington 6143
Telephone (04) 471 0726, Fax (04) 381 3057
February 2019 mustelid monitoring
This monitoring included mustelid lines in the bush, and combined mustelid and
rodent monitoring in the alpine areas.
Caples and Greenstone Valleys
Mustelids were detected on 31% of lines, and the mean mustelid tracking rate per
line was 16%.
Dart Valley
No mustelids were detected on the monitored lines. In the alpine area of the
Routeburn, where monitoring was combined rodent and mustelids, there was a
mean tracking rate per line for rats at 13% and mice at 58%.
Native bird monitoring
Bird monitoring has not been carried out specifically for the Dart, Routeburn Caples
1080 operation. However, we do carry out longer term monitoring of native birds in
the Dart, Routeburn, Caples area.
The Department conducts 5-minute bird surveys in the Dart, Routeburn, Caples
area annually, in October. We are providing you with the results of the most recent
of these surveys, from October 2018. Please refer to the attached document
schedule.
More information on the 5-minute bird count method is available at:
https://www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets/documents/science-and-
technical/inventory-monitoring/im-toolbox-birds-incomplete-five-min-counts.pdf
Mohua transect monitoring
The Department has undertaken mohua transect monitoring of the Caples and Dart
Valleys since around 2000. Unfortunately, the monitoring shows a downward
trend, with the most significant drop in numbers seen the year following beech mast
cycles. During the 2011 beech mast, in which the area did not receive 1080
treatment, almost 80% of the local mohua population was lost.
More information on the transect monitoring method can be found at:
https://www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets/documents/science-and-
technical/inventory-monitoring/im-toolbox-birds-incomplete-line-transect-
counts.pdf
The following graph shows the result of mohua transect surveys over time.
Whio surveys
Whio surveys are conducted with a whio dog. The first of these surveys was
undertaken in the Dart Caples area in 2013, with a total of 6 whio counted. This
season, 53 whio have been identified, comprising 11 pairs, 27 ducklings and 4
singles. This success can be attributed to intensive trapping to protect whio, control
of mustelids by secondary poisoning from 1080, and translocation.
Bat transect monitoring
Bat transects are used as a simple method to detect trends in populations. The
technique involves walking along a track in 1 km sections holding a bat detector and
recording the number of bat passes. It is carried out in Spring (November) and
Summer (February).
The following table shows the mean number of transects where bats were present in
the Spring survey in the Dart Valley.
Deer repellent
You asked:
How long does deer repellent last on 1080 baits in cold and/or wet (winter)
conditions?
The Department does not hold any information on how long deer repellent lasts in
cold, wet conditions. We are therefore refusing this part of your request under
section 18(g) of the OIA. We have no grounds for believing that the information is
held by another department or Minister of the Crown or organisation, or by a local
authority.
We note also that the life of 1080 bait itself is reasonably short in wet weather. In
conditions of 11 – 20°C and 8 – 15% moisture, 1080 has been shown to break down
in 1 – 2 weeks (King et al. 1994).
Purpose of operation
You asked:
What is DoC attempting to achieve in these drops? In other words, what
animals are they trying to kill, and what animals are they trying to protect?
The purpose of the Dart, Routeburn, Caples Tiakina Nga Manu operation is to
protect mohua populations from rodents. Stoats will also be controlled through
secondary poisoning. Other species that are expected to benefit from the predator
control are whio, long-tailed bats, kaka, rock wren, kea, karearea, kereru, kakariki
and toutouwai.
Assessment of impact on native species
You asked:
Of the animal species DoC is attempting to protect, have those species
previously been found to be adversely affected by 1080 poison operations?
What does your data suggest, from previous poison operations in this area,
is the likely native species to experience by-kill and what amount is
considered acceptable to DoC? What non-native species is expected to
experience by-kill and what amount is considered acceptable?
The Department takes a population-level approach to conservation, which means
that the risk to individual birds is weighed against the benefit to the population as a
whole.
We are providing you with the relevant excerpt from the document
Assessment of
Environmental Effects for Rat and Possum Control in the Dart-Routeburn-Caples
Treatment Area, July 2016 –June 2021. This document considers the potential
effects of aerial 1080 pest control on native species in the Dart, Routeburn, Caples
area.
Ground control
You asked:
DoC's data appears to point to the fact that rat populations increase to 5 to 6
times greater than before the poison operation in under a year, after a 1080
poison operation and therefore further endanger bird populations, and
bearing in mind that rats need constant predation to effectively manage
their numbers and protect our bird species, what is DoC doing in this area by
way of ground control to prevent this happening?
Your question is based on a false premise. The Department’s monitoring data shows
that 1080 is effective at protecting our native species. In some areas, we do use a
combination of aerial and ground control. However, in many of the locations where
1080 is used, ground control is not feasible because of the number of traps or bait
stations that would be required, and the tracks that would have to be cut into the
bush, walked regularly and maintained.
In the Dart, Routeburn, Caples area, one small bait station network has been set up
as an extra precaution in case it is needed to help protect the mohua population
from rodents. The decision as to whether or not this will be required is yet to be
made.
Trapping budget
You asked:
What budget has been set for trapping of rats, mice and mustelids in this
region (the area being poisoned) for the previous ten years, and for the next
five years?
Trapping in the Dart and Caples Valleys targets stoats and consists of the Dart River
-Lower, Dart River – Upper, Dart Riverbed and Greenstone Caples areas. We are
providing you with actual budget figures for the last five years in the table below.
Note that trapping was carried out in 2011/12, although no budget was specifically
allocated to it.
Financial year
Actual Budget
2009/10
$47,239
2010/11
$44,241
2011/12
-
2012/13
$18,633
2013/14
$80,386
2014/15
$235,487
2015/16
$191,068
2016/17
$149,390
2017/18
$104,306
2018/19
$99,862
2019/20
$124,502
The table below shows the proposed budget for the next five years for traps in the
Dart River -Lower Dart River – Upper, Dart Riverbed and Greenstone Caples areas.
Note that these figures are unconfirmed and are therefore subject to change.
Financial year
Proposed budget
2020/21
$124,502
2021/22
$124,502
2022/23
$124,502
2023/24
$124,502
2024/25
$125,078
Budget for 1080 alternatives
You asked:
What budget has been set aside by this DOC region for research into 1080
poison alternatives specific to this region
Research into alternatives to 1080 is not funded at a regional level. However, there
is a national budget for this purpose – the Government is investing $2 million in
2019/20. More information is available on our website at:
https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/pests-and-threats/predator-free-2050/goal-
tactics-and-new-technology/tools-to-market/
Bait density
You asked:
What the amount of bait used and the bait coverage rate for this poison
operation?
The planned treatment block is a maximum of 19,465 hectares. The application rate
is yet to be confirmed but will be between 1.5kg/ha - 3kg/ha.
Ecological testing
You asked:
What are the plans for post-1080 drop ecological tests - insects numbers, soil
biome, 1080 uptake into plant life - that sort of thing?
The Department does not carry out these types of tests as a matter of course, and no
such testing is planned for the Dart, Routeburn, Caples operation.
This is because 1080 does not bioaccumulate in soil and presents little risk to the
surrounding environment. More information on this topic can be found on our
website at:
https://www.doc.govt.nz/resources/archive/pf20501080/1080-safety-and-
transparency/
https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/pests-and-threats/methods-of-
control/1080/how-to-keep-livestock-and-pets-safe/
Water testing
You asked:
Where is the surface water testing to be carried out for this poison operation?
(Bearing in mind that this operation will drop enough poison to kill several
hundred thousand humans, it's probably worth making sure that the poison
isn't ending up in people's drinking water.)
There have been a number of 1080 poison operations in this region over the
past ten years. in light of that, is Glenorchy's drinking water being tested for
both fluoroacetate and fluorocitrate?
Water testing is not required by the Ministry of Health for the Dart, Routeburn,
Caples operation.
There is no evidence that drinking water has ever been contaminated with 1080 (to
be classed as contaminated, drinking water has to contain 2 or more parts per
billion of 1080). Extensive research and monitoring in water catchments that have
been treated with 1080 show that contamination is highly improbable when the
current safety procedures are followed.
More information on 1080 and drinking water can be found on our website at:
https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/pests-and-threats/methods-of-
control/1080/using-1080-safely/1080-and-tap-water/
Notification process
You asked:
As 1080 poison has been shown to be teratogenic at parts per billion, and
cause miscarriages at extremely low doses, what effort, if any, has been made
to warn pregnant Glenorchy residents about this fact, and for them to take
special precautions? Are you aware if the Public Health Officer has made an
attempt to contact and warn the locals about this?
Again, your question is based on a false premise. As explained above, there is no
evidence that drinking water has ever been contaminated with 1080. Consequently,
the Department does not specifically ‘warn pregnant Glenorchy residents’.
However, we do undertake a pre-operational notification process across a wide
audience, including iwi, landowners and occupiers, farmers, schools, hunting,
fishing and recreational groups, tourism operators, conservation groups, regional
and local government, businesses, animal welfare and medical specialists. We also
place notices in local newspapers, erect warning signs in the operational area, and
post alerts for walking tracks on the DOC website.
We are providing you with a copy of one of the public notices for the 2019
Routeburn Dart Caples operation for your information.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this
decision. Information about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.
If you wish to discuss this decision with us, please feel free to contact me at this
email address.
Please note that this letter (with your personal details removed) and enclosed
documents may be published on the Department’s website.
Yours sincerely
Amber Bill
Director, Biodiversity Threats
Document schedule
Item Date
Document description
Decision
1
24 July 2019
Dart Caples Routeburn 5 Minute Bird Released in full
Counts 2018
2
April 2016
Excerpt from Assessment of
Released in full
Environmental Effects for Rat and
Possum Control in the Dart-
Routeburn-Caples Treatment Area,
July 2016 –June 2021
3
16 July 2019
Notice in the Southland Times:
Released in full
Predator control in the Dart,
Routeburn and Caples Valleys
