Conservation Ministers Maggie Barry and Nicky Wagner announced yesterday $263,000 from the Department of Conservation community fund would be given to Otago projects ranging from restoring wetland to eradicating pests.
The Otago Peninsula Biodiversity Group was given $98,000 to continue a possum control programme on 9500ha of public and private land from Taiaroa Head to the rural fringes of Dunedin’s eastern suburbs.
Group project manager Sarah Irvine said the group was "extremely appreciative and excited" to be given the money to continue the "amazing work a huge team of people has been doing for the past six years".
"It is very exciting ... we are absolutely stoked," Ms Irvine said.
The Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust was given $80,000 for restoring a wetland "of special ecological value".
Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu was given $45,000 towards management of Katiki Reserve.
Landscape Connections Trust was given $40,000 for extending a project to respond to invasive mammalian pests, which threaten habitat of endangered bird species.
Ms Barry said each of the groups played an important role in protecting threatened bird species and enhancing ecosystems.
"If we are going to achieve our Predator Free vision by 2050, supporting community conservation work of this kind is absolutely vital."
