Updates from the Southern Lakes Branch 

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Nov Newsletter 

NOV 

25

Next Meeting

Apologises to those that tuned in last meeting, Sharon forgot the camera

Agenda for the next club night

6.30pm Bar opens
7.30pm Meeting starts
8.15pm Beer refills
8.30pm Guest Speaker (TBC)
9.30pm Drinks and Social Catch up
10.30pm End of meeting

Certificate Presentation Night ....
Douglas Scorers; Hunts course graduates and Photographic awards will also be presented

CLUB MEETING VENUE
Arrowtown Bowling Club, 6 Hertford Street,
(Next to Arrowtown Firestation) 

Coronet Peak Goat Shoot

Fri/Sat 10th & 11th Dec 2021

Join the Annual Coronet Peak Station Goat Shoot

We have permission from the Coronet Peak Station to shoot goats. If you are not familiar with the station, it extends right from Skippers Canyon to Arrowtown, Macetown, over the Mototapu and the back of Wanaka.

This year, weather permitting we are looking to drive in via Macetown and stay at the 8 mile hut and camp overnight on the Friday and possibly Sat night too. This will allow us to shoot where there are more goats.

Andy is meeting the station owner later this week to discuss and work out a plan, so full details will be discussed at the meeting on Thursday and the website updated after that.

We are looking to arrange for experienced 4WD drivers to take members that don't have suitable vehicles. There may be a small cost for this weekend - still to be confirmed

Please check back after the meeting for full details, however you can register your interest and we can send you an email with info once sorted.

Christmas Party 

After last years successful BBQ event, we are doing it again!

We have Nathan and the famous "Frank" slow cooking some delicious cuts and a bouncy castle for the kids. Bring the family along for an afternoon BBQ and catch up.

BYO beer
BYO additional food or side dish

When: Sunday 12th December

Where: 24 Herries Lane, Lake Hayes Estate

Time: 2pm onwards, Food served from 4pm (for the kids) and adults after 5pm

Please RSVP if possible to give us an idea for catering numbers - you can still turn up on the day if you forgot to RSVP, just bring some meat for the BBQ

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Minutes from 28th Oct 2021

Apologies:-

Apologies from:- Wayne Patterson, Andy Pedley, Brendon Lines, Peter-Ray Moroney, Melissa Jager, Dion Halshaw, Tash Black,

Minutes from last meeting:-

Minutes were sent out in the last newsletter on the 7th Nov

Moved a true and accurate account by Simon Brackstone and seconded by Lance Bonkovich

General Correspondence In:-

• National Newsletter received - if you missed it read here

• Feedback required on Blue Mountains access proposal - Sam offered to help and feedback to Mark Hastie President Otago

• Fish and Game - booked the Greenstone Hut to do river maintenance work

• Feedback asked on Goat populations in Qtn from National Office – the aim is that they want to work with DOC and use hunters to help with the issues.

  Sharon replied and pointed out biggest issue is access (Mt Creighton, Fernhill, Main road in Arthurs Point) Read the brief report here

• The Sika Show has been postponed (due to Covid) till end Feb 2022 

General Correspondence Out:-

• Replies to above

Presidents Update:-

All the best to Branden Gunst

Branden has been a member of the Southern Lakes since 2010 ish (and a member up North long before that)
Branden has held vice president of the branch and has helped the club at various fundraisers, stoat trap set up and hunting events.
In his words...
Hello, I'm leaving town and counting the days until I can start a life with Astrid Eder, the amazing lady who I met just over four years ago. 🙂 We are looking to start life together in Motueka in November.

Andy thanked him and on behalf of the club wished him well and gave him a $50 hunting and fishing voucher .

We wish him all the best although he is hoping to pop back for the Xmas function 12th Dec 

Douglas Score course

Andy congratulated everyone that attended this on 9th October in conjunction with the Upper Clutha Club. Certificates will be handed out at the Nov meeting.

Congrats to our members on passing their level one* successfully

• Phil Balaam
• Katie Dugan
• Callum King
• Shaum Moloney
• Wayne Patterson
• Aaron Shaw

*We are looking to hold a level two next Winter some time

Sub Committees

Great to see volunteers helping with the various sub committees. There are no conditions to belong to any of these, in fact we encourage as many members to help where they can

Range Committee:-

Stephen reported that our current lease agreement with the Reel Hunting range in the Cardrona Valley has expired. Due to the extensive, new regulations coming in next year, the committee are not prepared to take the risk and pursue and operate this range as a NZDA one, so sad to report but this range is currently closed.
As a result Stephen explained that he had investigated a couple of alternative options for members. 

NB. We will still be actively looking for a suitable replacement but in the meantime if anyone needs to sight a rifle in the options are below:-

Mountain Precision 

They can only have 2 shooters at once and is $175 per day for full tuition, ideal for someone looking for one on one training with their rifle

See website for more info

Avalon Station - Real Guns

• Facilites include:-
• 5 shooting platforms
• Gongs at 1 mile
• Covered seating and prone area
• Sighting in range at 300m
• Cleaning kits available
• Rest bags, ear muffs, toilets and BBQ area
• They also provide Range Officers on site

$20 casual fee for NZDA members or Annual fee of $200 pp

See website for more info

Reel Hunting Contact Jono if you want to arrange something separately 

Stoat Traps in Steele Creek

Simon Brackstone presented on the stoat traps - see below

In summary, we need to spend a significant amount to repair and replace these and $5500 was approved for this work.

Volunteers will be needed for the working bee in the Greenstone/ Steele Creek area and a date over the summer will be discussed in the next few weeks

Background to the Stoat Traps 

The trap line was first established in 2009 with an initial circa 70 traps deployed over approximately 14 kilometres with 200m spacing within the Greenstone Valley and up to the head of the Steele Creek Valley. The trap line has had reasonably regular attendance with traps being cleared and rebaited on average 3 to 4 times per year since deployment. The trap line predominantly sits on DOC Crown Land with a small section running through LINZ land within the Mt Aspiring National Park.

The trap line is established and operated under a Community Services Agreement between the Southern Lakes Branch of the New Zealand Deerstalkers (SLBNZDA) and DOC and has support from DOC and the Whakatipu Wildlife Trust.

Trap catch data is captured and maintained using TrapNZ, the National NZ Standard for monitoring predator control and managing biodiversity data, and is currently administered by Simon Brackstone.

Benefits to the SLBNZDA to maintain the Trap Line -

• It is an opportunity for good press, good will and it backs up how conservation minded the Branch is and strengthens the relationship with DOC.
• It has given us improved helicopter access to the Greenstone hunting block.
• By logging our data in Trap NZ we make ourselves available to receive expert advice on Whio for example, and open ourselves up to the possibility of applying for research funding opportunities for projects like materials, grants or cameras.
• It is a point of positive inclusion and consolidation for hunters involved in Predator Free 2050.
• Good communication and data sharing for the area.

We raised over $8,000 at the National Conference to put towards our trapping program and Whio protection.

Current Summary & Challenges of the Trap Line

• Trap status is based upon recent Audit by Simon Brackstone, September 2021
• Total number of trap locations on data base = 61 (GPS recorded positions)
• Total recorded kills to date of predators (including possums) are 252 (see historical kill records).
• Recent evidence confirms that Kea are now having a major impact on the trap line. They have identified the traps as fun and as a source of food, have tipped traps over thereby setting off the mechanism, rolled some into rivers, off cliffs, stolen bait and in some cases damaged mesh box ends.
• 13 traps have been lost to floods and land slides.
• 46 traps are rusty or have compromised mechanisms and or damaged mesh ends and will deteriorate further over time.
• The length of the trap line, especially above Steele Creek, is challenging to efficiently check and rebait when walking in, on only an overnight trip.

Given the current status of the trap line, the presence of Keas affecting the traps, and the need to repair and replace some traps, we suggest improving the current trap line in line with DOC Community Services Agreement to make it more easily accessible and able to be maintained by volunteer labour and therefore more effective.

Recommendations

1. Shortening the length of the trap line to run between trap number 1 at the base of the valley and the Steele Creek Bivy. This will make it more accessible and able to be checked on an overnight trip.
   
   
2. Adding new DOC 150 double set box traps, in between existing single set traps thus increasing the trap density from 200m apart to 100m apart, in line with DOC Best Practice. This would mean the addition of 25 new Kea proofed traps.
   
   
3. Refurbishing and upgrading the existing reparable traps and relocating to the lower region to give a total of 38 single box set traps including
   a. A full clean and mechanism check, oil and calibration
   b. Replacing existing mesh with stainless steel Kea proof grill ends
   c. Kea brackets around the lid screw heads
   d. Securing the boxes to the ground
   
   
4. Enhancing the current trapping program with secondary automatically resetting traps, that target possums as well as Mustelids. Say AT220 or similar (Kea proofed) which would need less maintenance and could be left for longer intervals between checks. Suggest an initial trial of 3 traps.
   
   
5. Any traps used or introduced to be NAWAC approved (humane kill traps) and be fully Kea proof.
   
   
6. Introducing bird monitoring using periodic bird counts to give us baseline data with which we better can measure our trap line effectiveness. This can be administered in TrapNZ and performed by Liz.
   
   
7. Introducing kea surveys for those interested to learn how. https://survey.keadatabase.nz/
   
   
8. Introducing predator (rat and/or stoat and/or possum) monitoring to identify main predator numbers and again measure effectiveness of program. This can also be documented in TrapNZ. Tracking tunnels can be made, ink cards are $16 for 5 cards.
   
   
9. Implementation of an annual trap maintenance check to properly clean, repair, calibrate and inspect the traps and identify any improvements in specific trap placement or position that could be beneficial, ie improving trap placement of traps that tend get flooded out in heavy rainfall, or moving a trap with a poor catch history.

Associated estimated costs:

Fully kea proofed DOC 150 double set traps 25 of @ $125 each

Ink cards for monitoring are $16 for 5

AT220 possum traps 3 of @ $380+GST+freight each

Stainless steel ends (38 x 2) = 76 @ $9.50 each

Kea brackets for boxes – Could make these ourselves from metal angle

Rebar to fix boxes to ground could supply these ex building sites free of charge

Fencing staples to fix rebar to boxes, 2 x rebar + 4 staples per box

All up the estimated cost to refurbish the trap line from the greenstone valley up to Steele creek to create an 8 KM trap line with a total of 63 traps is $5,500 (this excludes Helicopter transport).

Motion to approve these costs put forward by Sharon Salmons, Seconded by Andy Pearson - approved by all

Carried

Secretaries Report:-

• Sharon reminded people that the Caples and Greenstone RHA Ballots are currently open to apply for as well as the Wapiti blocks. These both close end of Nov, Details on the RHA below and the Wapiti is mentioned above.
• 3 or 4 people are needed to complete the work at the Upper Spey Hut Names have been taken at the last meeting and this is due to go ahead mid Nov
• The Sika Show due to Covid has been postponed till end Feb
• We talked about needing help for the annual A&P show where we sell Vension Burgers as a fundraiser - However since the meeting, we have been advised the A&P show has now been cancelled due to Covid.
  
  We also discussed, we will need a new banner and signage for the burger stand, so a motion would put forward by Simon to spend up to $500 on one that can be used for all events and seconded by Pete Henderson CARRIED

Restricted Hunting Areas - RHA 

Greenstone/ Caples/ Steel Creek RHA Ballots

The April to May applications close Nov 30th 

April to May 2022 ballot

Apply online from 1 November 2021 until 11:59 pm on 30 November 2021.

The draw will take place in December under police supervision and party leaders advised of the results by late January 2022.

Before applying you need to know:

• full name, address, phone number and firearms licence number for each member of your party
• your preferred hunting blocks in order of preference from 1–5
• preferred month
• the email address of party leader.

Only one application per party is permitted. Individual hunters should not apply on more than one ballot form – any hunter found on more than one form will have all applications removed from the ballot.

A maximum of four hunters are permitted per block; any parties with fewer than four members will have the remaining places allocated to another party.

Treasurers Report:-

Balance to date: $63,151.12

Hut fees: deposited this month $1,025

Memberships Update:-

Memberships officer Melissa was absent due to her birthday

Paid up members: 185 have paid 

New Members: Welcome to the following new members since last meeting

• Chris Horne and Jasper Mooji

General Business

Hunting trips coming up

11th Dec - Coronet Station Goat shoot organised by Andy Pearson

Meeting ended 

Hunting and Wildlife Magazine

Spring Edition

Prefer a Printed Copy?

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Hunting & Wildlife Magazine
and have it delivered to your home address

www.nzda.shop

$10 a copy

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$29 for 4 x editions

Back issues of the magazine are also available for purchase.

National Newsletter 

The National Newsletter from the team in Wellington normally send this out at the end of the month and it should get delivered to your email address. 

If you are not receiving this - your email address at head office may be different to the one the local club has. 

Social Media

Join the conversations:-

Alternatively connect with other members in the private facebook chat group

Branch Committee and Contacts

Branch President
   Andy Pearson      027 292 5492 

Vice President(s) Shared 
    Nathan Wise    021 792 010
   Alasdair Gay   021 034 4671

Secretary
   Sharon Salmons     021 942328

Treasurer & Hut Bookings
   Roger Slow     027 281 3571

Immediate Past President 
   Jacques Olivier     027 680 0577

Memberships
   Melissa Jager     027 392 3692

HUNTS training co-ordinators
   Pete Henderson     0204 144 9272
   Shaun Moloney     027 442 1605
   Katie Dugan    021 181 1569
   Melissa Jager     027 392 3692

Chief Range Co-ordinator
   Stephen Dobinson     027 553 3991

Stoats Traps
   Simon Brackstone     021 949 669
   Liz Mathieson  021

Advocacy (Hunter Access)
  Dave Rider      021 969 350

Trophy Custodian
   Alex Ritchie       021 0248 7086

Douglas Scorers
   Course to be held 9th Oct 2021    

Extra Committee Members
   Nick Haprov      021 176 5938
   Andy Pedley       021 606 545
   Stephen Dobinson   027 553 3991

General Enquiries

   info@southernlakesnzda.org.nz

  021 942 328

PO Box 1648, Queenstown, 9348

Club Bank Account

ASB: 12-3405-0071329-00