High on the remote East Coast of New Zealand’s North Island, stretching between Ōpōtiki, East Cape, and inland toward Gisborne, lies Raukūmara Pae Maunga — one of the most rugged, isolated, and untouched ranges in the country. Steep, forest-cloaked ridgelines rise sharply from the coastline, cut by deep river valleys and often wrapped in cloud, making access difficult and the landscape both formidable and special.
This is where our story unfolds.
A Job Bigger Than Us
The call to be part of the aerial application of Sodium fluoroacetate (1080) across the Raukūmara ranges wasn’t just another contract. It carried weight — not just operationally, but culturally, environmentally, and personally.
For us at Epro, this wasn’t just about precision aerial application of bait. It was about protecting something irreplaceable — a landscape deeply woven into the identity of local iwi, where Raukūmara Pae Maunga holds generations of whakapapa, wāhi tapu, and mahinga kai, and where the health of the ngahere is inseparable from the wellbeing of the people who descend from it.
The ngahere here is dense and alive — home to species that have survived against the odds. Native birds that once filled the canopy with sound. Wētā hidden in bark. Frogs that have existed unchanged for millions of years. And beneath it all, the quiet work of regeneration — seedlings pushing through leaf litter, trying to reclaim space from the pressure of introduced predators.
But those predators — rats, muselids, possums and deer — don’t rest.
Why We Do It
Without intervention, forests like Raukūmara Pae Maunga fall silent.
The reality is hard, but clear: aerial 1080 remains one of the most effective tools we have in New Zealand for large-scale predator control in remote, inaccessible terrain. There are places you simply cannot reach on foot in time to make a difference.
And timing matters — especially during mast years, when predator numbers explode.
Being involved in this work means stepping into that reality. It means understanding that sometimes the hardest decisions are the ones that protect the most life.
From Ground to Sky
Our role brought together everything we stand for — planning, precision, and respect for the land.
From mapping flight paths and weather windows to ensuring bait quality and environmental safeguards, every step mattered. The pilots weren’t just flying lines — they were threading through valleys and ridgelines shaped by generations.
On the ground, our team coordinated, monitored, and adapted. It’s work that demands trust — in each other, in the process, and in the purpose behind it.
There’s no room for shortcuts out here.
More Than Just Pest Control
For us, especially as a proudly Māori-owned business, this mahi runs deeper.
The concept of kaitiakitanga — guardianship of the land — isn’t just a word. It’s something we carry into every job. Protecting these ngahere means protecting whakapapa, ecosystems, and future generations.
When you stand in a place like Raukūmara and hear birds returning after silence, it hits different.
It reminds you why this work matters.
The Outcome
You don’t always see results immediately. But over time, the signs come back.
Birdsong increases. Seedlings survive. The forest breathes again. It lives again.
And that’s the quiet reward — knowing that behind the scenes, in places most people will never walk, something has shifted for the better.
Our Legacy
Being part of the aerial application in Raukūmara Pae Maunga is something we carry with pride.
Not because it’s easy — but because it’s necessary.
Because sometimes protecting the wild means making tough calls.
And because at the end of the day, it’s about leaving the land better than we found it — for our kids, our communities, and the generations still to come.
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