Push on to make peninsula pest free

Christchurch City Council has signed on to help work towards making Banks Peninsula and the Port Hills pest free by 2050.

Pesky possums aren't wanted on Banks Peninsula or the Port Hills.

The ambitious goal is outlined in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed yesterday by more than a dozen groups and agencies including the Council, the Department of Conservation, Environment Canterbury, the Banks Peninsula Conservation Trust, the Rod Donald Banks Peninsula Trust, the Summit Road Society and Ngāi Tahu rūnanga.

The MOU commits the signatories to working collaboratively to ensure the 115,000 hectare Banks Peninsula is effectively free of pest animals so native biodiversity can thrive.

It was developed by a working group led by the Banks Peninsula Conservation Trust.

“Controlling animal pests on Banks Peninsula is not a new concept,'' says David Miller, who chaired the working group and is a trustee of the Banks Peninsula Conservation Trust.

"Pockets of activity have been underway for decades and have achieved significant success.  For example, landowners in the south east corner of the peninsula have had trap lines in place for over 20 years and now live amongst thriving colonies of white-flippered penguins. 

"DOC and the city have had a very successful programme on Kaitorete, ECan has led extensive possum control work, a collaboration of these agencies is running a feral goat eradication programme, and the Summit Road Society is leading Predator Free Port Hills, coordinating a large network of suburban trappers. 

"However, if we are serious about achieving a Pest Free Banks Peninsula by 2050 we must have a coordinated approach to upscaling this work,” Mr Miller says.

Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage says Pest Free Banks Peninsula is a wonderful local initiative.

"This community-led programme will transform the environment for our native plants and wildlife to flourish on the doorstep of our second largest city,'' Ms Sage says.