Piroa/Brynderwyn (Mangawhai/Waipū)
The Piroa/Brynderwyn (Mangawhai/Waipū) High Value Area spans more than 22,374ha. Piroa-Brynderwyns Landcare is a collective of more than a dozen community-led conservation projects to restore biodiversity in the Brynderwyn Hills range and environs.
Ecological values – what are we trying to protect/restore?
The area is home to three threatened and 11 regionally significant plant species, as well as 10 threatened and five regionally significant fauna.
A high number of indigenous vascular plants, the native Hochstetter's frog, and longfin eel also inhabit this area. Its diverse forest habitat attracts kaka, tomtit, bell bird, New Zealand pigeon and fern bird populations, and red-crowned kakariki are occasional visitors from the Hen and Chicken Islands off the Bream Bay Coast.
More than 40 kiwi were released in the area from 2012 and are now successfully breeding and beginning to expand their range throughout the Piroa/Brynderwyn High Value Area.
Threats
Ferrets, stoats and weasels threaten the biodiversity of this area, which also suffers from kauri dieback. Invasive weeds impact unique coastal cliffs and forest remnants.
Progress – what’s being done?
More than a dozen community-led conservation projects are restoring biodiversity in the Piroa (Brynderwyn) Hills range and surrounding areas.
The Piroa-Brynderwyn Landcare (PBL) Pest and Weed Control Working Groups ensure the successful community-led pest and weed management programmes are sustained and expanded throughout the area.
Watch these working groups in action
Key stats
Significant effort has been made to reduce the number of pests in the area during the past two years. This includes the removal of:
374 possums
1,365 rodents
192 stoats
97 weasels
7 ferrets
191 hedgehogs
200+ pest birds
57 feral cats
1,000,000+ moth plant seeds.
Support of Northland Regional Council
Council has supported more than 20 biosecurity Environment Fund projects since 2010. This has seen work undertaken to control various introduced pests and weeds, with growing interest from the community to do more.