Nitz Creek is an iconic valley within the Fiordland Wapiti Area. The gentle upper valley is a highly productive ‘oasis’ hidden above a gorge in the lower Glaisnock River Catchment. It is where Edgar Nitz, in 1933, shot the largest Wapiti Bull ever taken in Fiordland.
Some of the largest Wapiti Bulls to be seen in Fiordland in more recent years are still to be found in the Nitz. The Upper Nitz Valley also retains a significant number of threatened species in a diverse and accessible seven kilometre valley- floor environment that offers considerable opportunity for intensive (though small scale – 500ha) biodiversity management.
FWF have had a single predator trap line in the upper valley floor to protect Whio (Blue Duck) since 2012, serviced 6 to 8 times per annum as resources and weather have allowed.
This trapping effort has resulted in at least four breeding pairs of Whio that enjoy regular breeding success. It has also offered some protection to local kiwi, kea, weka, kākā, kārearea and bat populations – which all still find suitable habitat on the upper valley floor – from stoat predation.
FWF are now scaling up the protection offered to threatened species in the Upper Nitz Valley (Funded by Burger Fuel). An expanded predator control programme has been developed based on: doubling the current trapping network to specifically target stoats; and sustained possum control around the main Nitz clearing to reduce both predation and competition for food resources from possums.
Over time, the development of effective rodent suppression will also be investigated. This predator suppression regime, if successful, will allow for the maintenance of larger, more diverse populations of threatened species and offers an opportunity to test the value of a hunter-led predator management model that might be transferred to other parts of the Fiordland Wapiti Are
The Wapiti Foundation has 500 stoat traps to upgrade at a cost of $200 per trap.
Become a guardian of one of Aotearoas’ treasures – Te Waipounamu World Heritage -Fiordland National Park.
Sponsor a trap that will protect Native birds like Kiwi, Kea and Whio.
The FWF will put your name on it. In return we will supply you with its location and annual updates.
