There are 50 kilometres of trap-lines targeting rats and stoats in the valley forests, starting near the Routeburn Shelter.

We have 200 traps in the Harris Saddle area and Hollyford Valley faces where rock wren/pīwauwau and kea are under threat from stoats.

In 2017 we were able to begin maintaining the 34 single DOC200 traps that form a line by Lake Sylvan up to Rockburn Shelter. These traps were initially installed and looked after by the Department of Conservation

In 2011 Genesis Energy announced a five year, $2.5 million partnership with DOC to implement the Whio Recovery Plan.

In 2012 Air NZ sponsored a new project to restore bird life and habitats at five Great Walk sites, the Routeburn being one.

In 2018, we placed 601 predator traps along the Dart and lower Rees rivers to protect the vulnerable braided river birds.

There currently appear to be no hedgehogs in our area - only a handful have ever been caught through targetted trapping in 2021. We plan to keep it that way so have placed DOC traps on both sides of Lake Whakatipu.

Feral cats are a huge problem in this area. With funding from various sources and developing partnerships with local landowners, a feral cat control project is now underway.

We completed our first bird count on the rivers in 2017 and have repeated this almost every year since!

All data collected is recorded for analysis and reporting - a vital part of the braided rivers project in particular.