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Hydro development: Coming to a river near you!
If you think hydro development is OK because it’s not taking place on your favourite river, think again. A report prepared for the Ministry of Economic Development identifies 65 hydro development “opportunities” around New Zealand that are likely to proceed in the next 20 years – chances are there is a threatened river near you
. We believe these rivers need to stay wild – raging in flood and murmuring in summer. More
The Kaituna River is under threat from 13.5 MW hydro-electric power dam which will obliterate a spectacular piece of whitewater, named Gnarly Gorge.
Photo: Simon Kieschke
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How to eat fish
To help save our fish, we’re teaching you how to eat them, or rather which ones to eat. In November, we will be releasing the updated Best Fish Guide. The guide assesses the state of our fish stocks, by-catch of seabirds and marine mammals, and damage to marine habitats. You can take this wallet guide to your chippie, fish retailer or restaurant to see which fish are the best choice for our oceans. The guide comes out on November 3, so keep your eyes on this page.
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Clean, green mining? Yeah right.
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Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee’s plans for a “stocktake” of mining opportunities in our most precious conservation land, including national parks
, have deeply concerned our members. Despite subsequent attempts by the Government to play down suggestions that it will open up protected conservation lands to mining, this proposal is still very much alive. We need your help to let the Government know that our protected forests, mountains, wetlands, beaches and seafloor are too precious to be handed over to the mining industry. Please help us by emailing Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee (g.brownlee@ministers.govt.nz
) to let him know you oppose mining of our core conservation lands. You could make some of the following points:
• Mining of core conservation land will directly threaten New Zealand’s 100% Pure brand and its $20 billion tourism industry.
• Mining cannot be “surgically” carried out in fragile conservation lands – it has long-lasting and significant impacts on the environment and wildlife.
• Burning mined lignite will be a major source of the greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.
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Winged Westies
Aucklanders now have a new type of birdsong to wrap their ears around next time they visit the Waitakere Ranges – the haunting melody of the kokako. A handful of these endangered songbirds were released
into our 1200-hectare sanctuary in September, joining other feathery immigrants such as the robin, whitehead and hihi. Over the next month, more than a dozen kokako will be released into the forest. Only 750 pairs of kokako remain in the North Island, but efforts by the Kokako Recovery Group (of which Forest & Bird is a partner) have been so successful it is ahead of its target of 1000 breeding pairs by 2013. More
To hear the kokako's song, go here. Kokako, Photo: © Simon Fordham / NaturePix
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Embattled kiwi struts to victory
The kiwi has snubbed calls for its resignation as our national bird by taking away the crowning title of Bird of the Year. In a flying finish, this earth-bound bird winged its way to victory with 1586 votes. The kiwi has fared badly in this annual popularity contest since the competition was launched in 2005. Last year, the kiwi failed to poll in the top 10.This year, its main rivals – the rifleman and the kea – clocked up more than 1000 votes each in a competition that saw more than 11,000 people flock to the polls. “This forest hen is a biological oddity – it has whiskers like a cat’s, it burrows like a badger, it kicks like a kangaroo and it smells like a forest mushroom,” Forest & Bird Advocacy Manager Kevin Hackwell said. “Unfortunately, it’s this odour that is one of the factors in its demise. It has become an easy
lunch for predators like stoats, possums and particulary dogs.”More
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Help Ruapehu lodge rise from the ashes
Last year, our Ruapehu lodge was gutted by fire, much to the sadness of trampers, skiers and botanisers who used to frequent it. The lodge was insured but insurance cover will not be enough to rebuild it to the stricter specifications now required by law, using environmentally friendly materials. We urgently need your help to meet the $300,000 shortfall so we can re-build it. More
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Pedalling for Nature
From 1 November, a Belgian-Spanish family with their one-year-old baby will be cycling 4000km from Cape Reinga to Dunedin to raise money for Forest & Bird. Wouter, Vanessa and baby Ella will be cycling about 40km a day. During the trip, they will be blogging, and doing various challenges to raise money – the first challenge they have accepted is streaking naked through Cathedral Square in Christchurch! Challenges will be determined by the public, and can be issued via their website: www.cycle4nature.org
. Donations can be made through their website or through fundraising website givealittle
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Tree planting hits $2 million
Over $2 million worth of native trees has been planted throughout the country as part of Honda’s TreeFund initiative. The company has been working with community groups and schools to green New Zealand since 2004. In the past five years it has planted 13 trees for every car sold. In 2009, 17 councils worked in partnership with Honda to plant trees and help stop coastal erosion, protect biodiversity and purify urban waterways
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