Written By: advantage - Date published: 8:37 am, December 23rd, 2020 - 22 comments
January
Demonstrating that hydro electricity generation and the Department of Conservation can work well together, a small scale “run of river” 1.89 megawatt generator system on public conservation land in South Westland is approved. No dam, just smart thinking.
February
The Auditor General comes out with a really good report on freshwater, stormwater, and drinking water, and puts government, local government and the big users on notice: “Given the significance of water issues, what we expected to find: clear national strategies … coherent work programmes … robust systems … resourcing, planning and strategic risk management … and strong engagement models with communities and in particular Maori. We found that, although much good work was being done, all of these elements were not in place.”
While it had the funding to do a larger cull, it needed to come up with longer term solutions, such as using the meat from deer control for food banks, he said. The project would supply 30 tonnes of meat to foodbanks, and employ 22 people in deer recovery instead of the two it employed through culling. It was a win-win solution, it created employment, provided food on the table for those in need and help keep deer population numbers under control, Sloan said. However, the foundation was struggling to find funding for its food bank project. The food bank requires $400,000, requesting $340,000 from government agencies with the foundation supplying the rest of the funding.
Roy Sloan/Supplied
A new smartphone app will mean hunters will be able to help record deer and bird numbers in remote Fiordland.
The Fiordland Wapiti Foundation is developing an app to help hunters keep track of deer and bird numbers in remote back country. During a Southland Conservation Board meeting on Thursday, Fiordland Wapiti Foundation president Roy Sloan said it invested a lot of money into launching an application that would help hunters keep track of deer numbers along with helping with survey kea populations. The app will launch with the 2021 March ballot, and will work offline so hunters can log whatever they see, wapiti, native birds and rubbish with GPS points which will go straight onto a map.