Motuora Image

Background to the Restoration Project

 Motuora is an 80-hectare island in the Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand. The island reserve lies five kilometres east of Mahurangi Heads, north of Auckland. Motuora has a long history of human occupation and was used for pastoral farming through most of the last century. Much of the original coastal forest was cleared long ago leaving only remnant pohutukawa and karo/mahoe scrub growing on coastal cliffs. In 1990 the focus for the island changed and a volunteer-led restoration programme began. Restoration efforts gained momentum in 1995 with the formation of the Motuora Restoration Society (MRS). The Society now jointly manages the island with the Department of Conservation (DOC). The major focus of the restoration project so far has been re-establishing native forest cover on the island. Approximately 30,000 native seedlings are raised in the island nursery each year and planted out by volunteers during the winter months. Weed control has also been important and an ongoing weed control programme is in place.
 
Motuora is special, not just for its secluded picnic spots and clear waters, but for the fact that it has remained free of mammalian predators despite the island's long history of occupation and farming. There are no rats, mice, mustelids (stoats, ferrets or weasels) or feral cats. This makes Motuora ideal for native ecosystem restoration and for the creation of a safe habitat for endangered species. Since 1999 Motuora has been used as a "kiwi creche“ by Operation Nest-Egg, and in 2006 Duvaucels geckos and shore skinks were released on the island. These releases mark the start of a new phase in the island restoration and many more species introductions are planned over the next decade.