Fiordland Wapiti Foundation Whio Program | Environmental Action in Biodiversity and Biosecurity

The Fiordland Wapiti Foundation undertake predator control in five river catchments in the Wapiti area of Fiordland through their Nitz Valley Whio Programme.
The remote Nitz Valley Whio (blue duck) Project had been operating for about 12 years, with limited results. In 2021, the foundation refreshed all the traps in the valley and over that summer noticed change happening, with birdlife improving - including hearing kiwi calling at night.
Through a new venison burger launch, Burger Fuel donated money for a conservation project. The foundation decided to use it to double their trap numbers in the Nitz Valley
and invest in possum control. During the 2022/23 season they witnessed large hatches of baby whio, which was not unusual, but what was exciting was the survival rate of the ducklings. At the end of the season a Department of Conservation whio survey found 36 in the valley, which was a brilliant result and the largest count in all the surveyed Fiordland valleys.
The foundation and other community volunteers check traps eight times a year, amounting to 4,400 trap checks. As they are operating their predator trapping in some of the most remote places on earth, they are always looking for innovation and getting more involved with trap technology. Their innovation centres on the smart use of technology, setting traps in the right place and with the right bait, and doing that little extra to catch a pest.