Cypress/Happy Valley News No. 7
Focusing on kiwi to Save Happy Valley. While I’d like to be optimistic, there’s a very good chance we will lose the Environment Court Appeal on Solid Energy’s proposed Cypress Mine. If we do lose, we have to go quickly into campaign mode.
This means we have to be working on our strategy right now.
I’m in favour of making kiwi the main focus because kiwi is our national bird and the public are already very conscious of the need to save it. The species we have at the mine site is roa/great spotted kiwi. It is classified as a vulnerable species (IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, 2000). DOC tells us numbers are declining over most of its range and the coal plateau is no exception.
However, the government department we rely on to protect kiwi, DOC, is currently collaborating with Solid Energy to move kiwi so a Cypress Mine can go ahead.
Before the 10 to 12 birds can be moved, the Minister of Conservation must give his permission. (To the best of my knowledge, local iwi Ngati Waewae must also give permission.)
So a first step is to ask the minister to deny permission. I think we should do this very publicly with a relatively friendly rally in Wellington, or wherever the minister goes, making it very clear we will not tolerate the birds being moved. (This would be a permanent exile since neighboring birds will take over the territory vacated, assuming a rehabilitated mine site would still support even one kiwi.)
Basically what we would be saying to the government is that its time to protect kiwi habitat as well as kiwi. Its time that these taonga (treasured creatures) were allowed to have a secure home. Why should they be booted off for 10 years worth of coal, the burning of which is helping destroy the planet.
Having said all this, I realise how important the coalfields native snail Powelliphanta patrickensis is. It stands to lose 10% of its habitat to the mine and more with subsequent roads and mines. There’s nowhere else to take it because it can only survive on the depleted soils of the coal plateau. So its even more threatened than kiwi.
But I still think from a campaigning point of view it’s best to keep things simple. If the minister does sign off on the kiwi transfer I for one would be prepared to protest on site, to do everything I could to frustrate DOC’s efforts to round up the kiwi and fly them away.
Although DOC has formally settled with Solid Energy, I’ve not been able to find out where the kiwi are to go. Solid Energy has suggested the Mainland Island at Nelson Lakes National Park. But this already has kiwi from the Heaphy Track area. Kiwi can only be sent to an area that already has well established pest control. And theres always the risk that they will wander outside this area tho this has no happened so far at Nelson Lakes. One good piece of news is the Heaphy kiwi, Mohua, that got the end of its bill smashed during transfer, is now eating worms and probing into moss so may be able to be returned to the wild. But even if the Nelson Lakes transfer turns out to be totally successful, it doesn’t alter the fact that the Happy Valley kiwi should not be removed for the sake of an environmentally disastrous coal mine.
