Multidisciplinary biosecurity teams at regional council level
Possum control is a pest management
priority for many regional councils.
Photo: Animal Health Board.
Careers in biosecurity are not limited to roles at MAF. Regional councils all have their own Biosecurity Manager with a team of people who enable councils to carry out their obligations under the Biosecurity Act 1993.
Richard Bowman, Biosecurity Manager at Environment Southland, says their team of nine is a multidisciplinary group.
"Most of our team have university qualifications in ecology or resource management," he explains. "But we do have several long-serving members of staff who have a lot of practical experience in pest management."
Environment Southland is currently undergoing a mid-term review of its 10-year regional pest management strategy (RPMS). The strategy looks at ways to manage plant, animal and marine pests which threaten the region.
"We employ staff to manage pest animals such as rabbits and possums and plants like gorse and ragwort," says Richard. "We're also endeavouring to raise public awareness of the impact of pests on indigenous biodiversity."
Environment Southland biosecurity staff work with Biosecurity New Zealand (BNZ) and other agencies, such as the Department of Conservation and the QEII National Trust.
"Environment Southland is currently working closely with BNZ to get people to help slow the spread of didymo by promoting the ‘check, clean, dry' message."
Greater Wellington Regional Council Biosecurity Manager Wayne O'Donnell has a team of 25 working on biosecurity in the region, with a further 45 or so on contract at different times.
Their roles vary from policy work through to development plans as well as implementation and monitoring of the RPMS.
"We're in the process of a five-year review of our RPMS. Ours is a 20-year strategy which started in 2002," says Wayne. "We felt that as we were looking to try to eradicate pests, we'd never do so in five years, so decided on a 20-year strategy."
Targeted for eradication during the 20-year strategy period are pests such as rooks, African feather grass (Pennisetum macrourum), blue passion flower (Passiflora caerulea), eel grass (ribbonweed or tapeweed): Vallisneria gigantea (an aquatic weed), and of course possums. The team's work in monitoring biodiversity and biosecurity outcomes of the strategy includes bird counts and seed fall plots. They also carry out regulatory work to ensure landowners undertake work that is required of them to control pests on their land and serve notices if work is not undertaken.
Wayne says most of his employees have science degrees in botany or zoology and many of those involved in monitoring and design planning have Masters degrees. It's difficult to find people with experience, he says, because there is no industry-based training programme.
"The Agricultural Pests Destruction Council used to run a four-year training programme for graduates. They would be posted around the country on secondment and receive training on different pests, like rabbit control in Otago or wallabies in the Bay of Plenty. Because this training isn't available, we tend to take on graduates and train them ourselves."
Environment Southland:
Greater Wellington Regional Council
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Page last updated: 2 July 2010