A four-year $9.7 million funding boost is set to help protect New Zealand’s national parks and native ecosystems from wild goats and deer.
The funding, from the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL), enables targeted wild goat and deer management in nationally significant conservation areas, reducing browsing pressure on native vegetation and supporting ecosystem recovery.
“When left unchecked, wild goats and deer can cause significant damage and impact productivity for farmers and other land managers,” said Minister for Conservation, Tama Potaka.
“This IVL investment means DOC will continue achieving significant conservation gains by reducing wild goat and deer impacts across some of New Zealand’s most important conservation landscapes — including Whanganui National Park and Waitōtara Conservation Area in the North Island, and Kahurangi, Nelson Lakes, Westland Te Tai Poutini, and Fiordland National Parks in the South Island.”
The programme strengthens monitoring, surveillance and operational capability, helping protect previous investments, reduce reinvasion risk, and build the knowledge and partnerships needed to deliver long-term biodiversity outcomes.
“It also builds on the strong progress of priority wild goat and deer work in these national parks, amplifying the biodiversity gains in some of New Zealand’s most important conservation landscapes,” Mr Potaka said.
The programme of work from this funding includes:
- Continuing wild goat control and monitoring across high-priority ecosystems in Whanganui National Park;
- Strengthening goat and deer management in the Waitōtara Conservation Area;
- Protecting wild goat free areas in Kahurangi National Park, particularly high value ecosystems around the Heaphy Great Walk;
- Eliminating the identified wild goat population in Nelson Lakes National Park;
- Intensifying wild goat eradication efforts in Westland Tai Poutini National Park;
- Continuing the successful deer management programme helping to reduce impacts and protect biodiversity in Fiordland National Park.
It builds on previous IVL investment in wild animal management, and the wider wild goat and deer work DOC delivers, which covers more than 1.2 million hectares of public conservation land.
