Huka Trapping Update October 2024
Welcome to the October 2024 Huka Trapping News
We’d like to acknowledge the incredible work of Huka Trapping, which is an integral part of the conservation efforts Bike Taupō is involved in. Their dedication to predator control and protecting our native birdlife goes hand-in-hand with our mission to create a safe and vibrant environment for everyone to enjoy.
The success of Huka Trapping’s work has led to a resurgence in bird life around the Craters Mountain Bike Park and surrounding areas, enhancing the natural beauty of the trails and contributing to a healthier ecosystem. Riders may have noticed an increase in the sights and sounds of native birds while out on the trails, an inspiring reminder of what we can achieve together for our environment. Next time you’re on the trails, keep an ear out for the wonderful bird songs!
Thank you, Huka Trapping, for all that you do!
Huka Trapping started over six years ago with just a few traps around the Hub. We now have pest control operating in Craters (193 traps), on the Huka trails that are on the Waikato River (334 traps) and on the Great Lake Trail (36 traps).
In spite of the relatively intense trapping programme, we are still catching a lot of pests! For example in Craters during the last 30 days, we have caught 90 pests (rats and possums), and 120 along the river on the Huka Trails.
We have some automatic traps (resetting) but ninety percent of the traps are manual and need to checked, rebaited and reset. We aim to do this weekly.
We’re proud to have an amazing team of around sixty dedicated volunteers who contribute their time and energy to help maintain and improve our trails. But with so much happening in and around the trails, we need more hands on deck to keep up the momentum!
Can you spare just a couple of hours at a time to help us? You can bike or walk. Whether you can help set traps, check traplines, or assist with monitoring, we’d love to have you involved.
If you have some time to give and want to be part of a dedicated team making a real difference, please get in touch with Clyff.
We’d be happy to provide training and support.
Thank you for considering lending a hand!
Read the Huka Trapping Strategic Plan here
Thanks from the trapping team!