When they find invasive species, the location is recorded, and pest plants targeted for removal. Miller brought Bailey to the South Wairarapa coastline to seek out pest cordgrass, or spartina anglica. The aquatic plant thrives in waterway margins, growing up to one-metre tall in brackish or freshwater. Okorewa Lagoon, part of Lake Onoke and the Wairarapa Moana network, was a possible site for the spread of the pest. Bailey and Miller are the sharp-end of a pest control plan developed by Greater Wellington Regional Council and DOC to fight invasive plant species. Greater Wellington Regional Council s management plan for invasive plant species looks well ahead to the future. The project covers the next 20 years but is preparing for the next century.
New Zealand s leading dog detective was unleashed in Wairarapa s wetlands on Tuesday as part of the fight against invasive toxic weeds.
Bailey, a sniffer dog and part of the Conservation Dogs Programme, at Okorewa Lagoon, South Wairarapa.
Photo: Wairarapa Times-Age / Grace Prior
Bailey is part of the Department of Conservation s [DOC] Conservation Dogs Programme.
The seven-year-old boxer-short haired pincer cross, and her pal Wink, are trained by Graeme Miller, a 38-year DOC veteran and canine specialist based in Invercargill.
The age-old partnership of man and dog is augmented by high-speed technology.
Conservation Programme dogs wear a special vest, hooked up to a global positioning system [GPS] satellite.