Boffa Miskell Ltd | Pest Animal Management Plan | Wharekirauponga Compensation Package | 30 May 2022 3 1.3 Residual ecological effects management The ‘effects management hierarchy’ was applied to address the identified impacts of the proposed WNP (EIANZ; Roper-Lindsay et al., 2018). The effects management hierarchy outlines the order of priority for ecological impact management as: a. Avoid. b. Remedy. c. Mitigate. d. Offset. e. Compensate. f. And any supporting actions. The proposed mitigation for the Project has been offered as a fully integrated mitigation ‘package’ that includes all aspects of mitigation, offsets, and compensation for landscape and ecological enhancements so that the overall cumulative benefits are a vast improvement than each individual component (Boffa Miskell Ltd, 2021). The Mitigation Plan is fully described in the ‘WNP mitigation and offset plan’ includes: • Ecological and landscape connectivity across and within the Waihi North Project. • Extensive restoration planting and open areas across the Waihi North Project. • Extensive riparian planting along the waterways, to complement the riparian enhancements already carried out by OGNZL (and its predecessors). • Creation of new wetlands, and enhancement of existing wetland areas. • Enhanced habitat for elements of native fauna such as frogs, birds, eels, koura, Cran’s bullies, and for wetland birds. • Greater ecological connectivity across the landscape for both resident and transient fauna. Specifically regarding Archey’s frogs, a range of initiatives are being proposed to address the potential residual adverse effects, which could be defined as further mitigation, or biodiversity offsetting, or ecological compensation. These actions, which seek to provide measurable benefits for Archey’s frogs, includes the provision of predator control around the Wharekirauponga area. 1.4 Impacts of predators on native frogs Introduced mammalian predators (including rats, stoats, mice, possums, hedgehogs, feral pigs, and cats) are widely known to predate on Leiopelma frogs and have been implicated in the decline in distribution of Leiopelma in New Zealand (Bishop et al., 2013; Egeter et al., 2015; Egeter, 2014; Thurley & Bell, 1994). A number of biological features make New Zealand’s native frogs vulnerable to population decline or extinction, including: restricted distribution ranges, unusually long lived, low reproductive rates, and vulnerability to introduced predators (as reviewed in Najera-Hillman, 2009).
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjE2NDg3