Kiwi, kakapo, Maui dolphin - and even the great White shark-feature on a list of 150 New Zealand species "prioritised" in an ambitious conservation strategy launched by the government this morning.
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The Department of Conservation's new Threatened Species Strategy hinges greatly on already-announced moves under the Predator Free New Zealand (PFNZ) plan to purge the country of pest predators by 2050.

​ An aerial application of non-toxic baits has begun ahead of an aerial 1080 operation in the Kahurangi National Park.

Department of Conservation communications advisor Trish Grant said non-toxic baits had been distributed across 74,600 hectares of Kahurangi National Park in the Parapara and Gouland Downs operational blocks on Wednesday. ​

​A group of South Island fishermen claim to have come into contact with aerially distributed 1080 bait pellets in early December while guiding a fishing party in the Mokihinui River valley.

​An aerial 1080 operation on that day was being flown by helicopter contractors completing pest control work for the Department of Conservation's Battle for our Birds programme and Ospri's TBfree programme.

The government's use of 1080 poison has long drawn angry protest from opponents, who push a range of scientific claims about its efficiency and danger. In his new book, Protecting Paradise , Science writer Dave Hansford scrutinises each of the claims - and concludes 1080 isn't the evil it's so often painted as. He talked to herald science reporter Jamie Morton.

So far we have carried out more than a third of our planned pest control over 820,000 hectares using aerial 1080 and 70,000 hectares largely by traps alone. Several long-term study sites show the cumulative benefits of regular, carefully-timed, 1080 treatment. Our monitoring shows that kiwi, kākā, kea and whio, among others, have better breeding success and produce more young after aerial 1080 pest control. ​

The Department of Conservation has begun aerial 1080 drops in the Kahurangi National Park as part of its Battle for our Birds predator control programme.
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The predator control is aimed at protecting populations of whio / Blue duck, great spotted kiwi, kea, kaka, rock wren / tuke, Powelliphanta snails and long-tailed bats/pekapeka

A long-time campaigner against the pesticide 1080 has persuaded a council to add more cautionary details to warning signs used during aerial bait drops.
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Waikato Regional Councillor Clyde Graf got a motion passed that adds a line to warning signs which states: "Poison baits or carcasses may be present in waterways".

​A tentative start date for two planned 1080 drops near Queenstown has been set.
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Department of Conservation Wakatipu operations manager Geoff Owen said the operation, to kill the predators of native birds, would begin any time from September 5.

More than $ 6 million will be spent dropping 1080 poison on the South Island's West Coast in the coming months.
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About 230,000 hectares of the region will be targeted in this year's Battle for our Birds programme, which focuses on western and southern parts of the South Island.

A far North community that pitched in to save an ancient forest from possums and rats now has a new enemy to contend with - kauri dieback.

​Warawara forest in North Hokianga has been bouncing back after a 1080 poison drop last spring and intensive trapping on surrounding farmland.

But scientists have now confirmed the presence of the kauri killing pathogen phytopthera agathidicida (PTA) around trees on private land in the Puapua area, just north west of the forest.