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1. PatL
   Member

   UPDATE 19 Feb 2011

   The helicopters have now arrived. They came on the cruise ship Marina Svetaeva on Sun 13 Feb. One is parked in the 'hangar', which to the untutored eye looks suspiciously like an old whaling station engineering shed, and the other is parked outside on the nice flat concrete foundations of what was the freezer plant. Tony Martin and some of the team arrived on the same ship, followed by George on the Bremen on Friday 18 Feb. The remainder of the team are due in the next few days on the fishery patrol ship Pharos SG, along with seven containers of bait. Tony and his team are learning about the interesting problems that come with operating this remotely at the mercy of some pretty tortuous logistical chains, but there have been no show stoppers so far.

   More details from the SGHT website at http://www.sght.org

   Cheers from rainy SG,
   Pat

   Posted 11 months ago #

2. andy
   Member

   The SGA's response to the proposals are now available for download from our webserver:

   http://www.southgeorgiaassociation.org/documents/SGA-Comments-SGHT-Habitat-Restoration-Project.pdf

   Posted 1 year ago #

3. andy
   Member

   From the SG environmental officer - looks like it's going ahead...

   
   Dear all,

   GSGSSI are pleased to announce that, following stakeholder consultation, conditional approval has been given to the SGHT for the first phase of the Habitat Restoration project to proceed in February-April 2011. The conditions that apply are as follows:

   1. A minimum of two helicopters should be used throughout the project, although an exception can be made for the Greene Peninsula, where a single helicopter operation will be acceptable;

   2. SGHT take out adequate insurance, to amounts agreed with GSGSSI, to cover all aspects of the project;

   3. Detailed documentation, including risk assessments, biosecurity plans, oil spill response and search and rescue plans are submitted in good time to GSGSSI for approval.

   The project, which aims to eradicate rats from the Thatcher, Mercer and Greene peninsulas on South Georgia, is a major undertaking and, if successful, should result in a dramatic increase in the numbers of ground nesting birds.

   This announcement is available on our website at the following link:

   http://www.sgisland.gs/index.php/(g)press_releases

   Best regards,

   Darren
   

   Posted 1 year ago #

4. PatL
   Member

   As for reindeer, they are an introduced alien species that has had a negative effect on the plant communities, grazing down the native acaena etc. destroying coastal tussac margins in places (Sorling Valley, Jason Harbour for instance) and creating conditions by grazing where introdduced grasses can flourish. Who knows, these may even be vital habitats for other native species - insects and plants. The reindeer are, on the other hand, a potentially useful gene pool; the northern herds have been exposed to Chernobyl fallout for instance. Two herds have been established in the Falklands recently, from animals taken from SG, so the SG herds are not the sole repository of the genetic stock.

   Posted 1 year ago #

5. PatL
   Member

   Fully in favour of rat eradication. If successful it would make a lot of habitat available for smaller petrels and pipits to breed. The endemics are particularly vulnerable to habitat loss. The danger of failure is that nobody would give the money again for a second bite. Another danger is that there are mice on the island, possibly kept under control by rates. On Gough island mice eat albatross chicks alive, but I reckon that in the very worst case we could always reintroduce rats to an area should that become a real problem.

   Posted 1 year ago #

6. andy
   Member

   The Environmental Impact Assessment and Operational Plan for the rat eradication project are available on the SG government website here:

   http://www.sgisland.gs/index.php/%28e%29Eradication_Of_Rodents

   Posted 1 year ago #

7. andy
   Member

   For? Against? Should we be wiping out the reindeer at the same time?

   Posted 1 year ago #

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