Te Hoiere is a long way from the remote mountains and lakes of Northern Canada.
But Brandon Crawford’s unique experience working for indigenous (First Nation) governments in Canada on multi-party ecosystem projects like Te Hoiere Project has provided him with the perfect platform to hit the ground running in his new role.
Appointed as Ngā Awa Ranger – Te Hoiere Project – in January this year as part of Department of Conservation’s Ngā Awa river restoration programme, Brandon is an environmental scientist who is currently on a work visa in New Zealand.
“With my background in freshwater fisheries, particularly native salmon management/recovery and freshwater quality monitoring programs of Yukon’s Southern lakes, I am super excited to be part of Te Hoiere Project and to help lend my experience in this space where baseline data is informed through both western science and traditional ecological knowledge lens,” Brandon said.
“I am really impressed with the multifaceted studies and involvement by many environmental, government groups and Iwi partnerships on enhancing this important freshwater-ocean reaching watershed and am grateful to help play a part in telling its story.”
As part of Brandon’s role, there are many taonga species within the watershed (read catchment) that he is helping study and understand through baseline/monitoring work. This includes:
- Kanakana (lamprey) pheromone sampling and targeting electrofishing to pinpoint the tributaries and habitat use of these taonga species;
- Freshwater fish inventory – partnering with Olleyecology on a second year of fish studies for the project, to continue to inventory fifteen more tributaries to identify the local species in these creeks and rivers through both electrofishing and eDNA methods;
- Kakahi (freshwater mussel) distribution surveys, building on work done in previous years, to continue to identify colonies of Kakahi across the Te Hoiere catchment and categorise their habitat preferences and characteristics;
- Examining fish passage issues on Department of Conservation land and continuing to assess sites and include in the freshwater fish passage database for future mitigation actions.
“I am also looking at exploring the traditional knowledge of Kanakana and hoping to help tell more of their story in the watershed through a cultural and science lens. I am currently waiting to hear back from some knowledge holders and am open to anyone that has cultural knowledge or a story about lamprey that they would like to see shared.”
Brandon said he has had “a blast” working within the catchment including navigating the complexities around competing land use and priorities amongst rural agriculture, forestry, recreation and cultural use of the many habitats.
“It has been a unique opportunity to explore the many endemic and native bush and creek environments, with the tree ferns being a particular favourite plant. Galaxiids, eels, bullies and freshwater crayfish are all new species for me, and it has been amazing getting to understand the habitats they occupy and appreciating the lifeblood of the catchment.”
Brandon said working within the watershed was “a wonderful way to stay grounded and present with the flowing water and unique underwater environments housing diverse species.”
Department of Conservation’s Ngā Awa river restoration programme is a whole catchment approach, working in partnership to restore the biodiversity of 12 rivers from the mountains to sea, of which Te Hoiere/Pelorus is one. The programme's objectives are to ensure river ecosystems and species are thriving from mountain to sea and restored rivers are enriching people's lives. The objectives are being achieved by collaborating with others, co-designing and co-leading with iwi, hapū and whānau and by recognising climate change. For more information go to: www.doc.govt.nz/our-work/freshwater-restoration/nga-awa
