12 October 2023

Fulton Hogan’s Waikato NOC team is working with Predator Free NZ and Waka Kotahi on a six-month trial trapping rats, stoats, ferrets, weasels and possums on a gully under the new Hamilton Bypass section of the Waikato Expressway.

The Mangaharakeke Stream gully is a corridor for pests to and from the Hamilton urban area, as well as a place of considerable new planting and biodiversity. Shown here are team members Nick Rarere and Butta Gurmel setting an automatic AT220 trap.

Fulton Hogan’s Chief Operation Officer – Infrastructure, Simon Dyne, says the trial will help understand trapping’s effectiveness in limiting the passage of predators under roading systems. If successful, it could be rolled out to Fulton Hogan NOC contracts nationally, on behalf of Waka Kotahi. Fulton Hogan’s West Coast NOC Team is entering into a similar partnership on their network this summer.

Waikato NOC Contract Manager, Rob Hutchinson, says the project is a great learning experience for the team, especially in working with Predator Free NZ.

“I wouldn’t want to be a rodent up against Predator Free New Zealand because they know all the tricks of the trade,” Rob says.

Two types of traps are being used; the manually cleared DOC 200 and the AT220 automatic possum and rat trap, with android app.