Ahuahu & Andy Series: The Real Cost of Pest-Free Islands by Andy Hopping - Coromind Issue 38, 2026

The major pest eradication on Ahuahu / Great Mercury Island in 2014 was a public/private project. I was then employed directly by the Island; the island paid my salary (funded privately) to ensure that the multi-million-dollar investment that had been pumped into the restoration project over a period of a few years was protected by someone dedicated to just that job. There is still to this day a full-time ranger employed to maintain the pest-free status.www.coromind.nz