People Helping Nature Podcast · Conservation Amplified

Kiwi and Pine: The Role of Forestry (with Craig Balsom)

·31 min·2 clips

Only 5% of wild Kiwi chicks survive to adulthood without predator control.

1. People Helping Nature Podcast centers on Kiwi and pine forestry with Craig Balsom and Save the Kiwi. 2. Craig Balsom is Forestry Specialist at Save the Kiwi, and Ana and Callum host for Conservation Amplified. 3. The episode asks how commercial forests can add Kiwi habitat and reduce losses during harvest. 4. Craig says there are five Kiwi species, not one, and only 5% of wild chicks survive without predator control. 5. He says researchers first noticed Kiwi in pine forests in the late 1970s and early 1980s. 6. Save the Kiwi and the Forest Owners Association are building a GSI portal map of where Kiwi are present and absent. 7. Craig says 7% of New Zealand's landmass is commercial forest, and he cites about 1.8 million hectares of commercial forests. 8. He argues that even a small share of that 1.8 million hectares could significantly expand Kiwi habitat. 9. Craig says Kiwi in pine forests often overlap with native forest strips and riparian margins left inside plantations. 10. He emphasizes that Kiwi are extending their range into pine rather than choosing pine over native forest. 11. In known Kiwi areas, forest managers now establish presence and absence before harvest planning. 12. Craig describes acoustic recording devices left out for up to 10 days and night listening surveys done just after dusk. 13. He says many forests now run predator control or support local Kiwi projects with that work. 14. The management guidelines for North Island Brown Kiwi in plantation forests were updated last year after an earlier version from the early 1980s. 15. Craig says harvest crews get Kiwi training so they can identify Kiwi sign before work begins. 16. He gives an example from a Kiwi sanctuary in Hawke's Bay where crews 'beep the birds' each morning with telemetry before starting work. 17. If a Kiwi is present, the crew can call a handler, move the bird, or switch to a different block for the day. 18. Craig says the research project will monitor Kiwi for six months after harvest to see how they use cutover and how modern machines affect them. 19. The tone is practical and explanatory, with detailed examples from forestry operations and conservation management. 20. People involved in forestry, Kiwi recovery, and predator control will get the most from this episode, while listeners wanting a fast wildlife story may skip it.

As heard by us

Commercial forests become a kiwi habitat question.

Craig Balsom's conversation with Ana and Callum makes a careful case that commercial pine forests may offer more kiwi habitat than is often assumed.

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Why you'd press play

You get kiwi habitat, commercial forests, and the machinery in between.

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