“We’ve been asking the question, ‘If they’re really low, why don’t we just get rid of them completely?’”

She said controlling could go on forever, but eradication would significantly reduce costs to just those for checking “none have come back”.

Conservation Minister Tama Potaka announced $750,000 from the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy would be given to the eradication programme.

Saunders said this boost allowed it to begin, although total costs could exceed $1.5m over the six-year programme – three for eradication and three for surveillance.

It was a “drop in the bucket” compared to the about $10m spent on controlling feral goats in the area since the 1940s.

Saunders estimated fewer than 1000 goats remained.

“It’s impossible to know, but it’s a low enough number that eradication is feasible.”

Saunders said the stoat eradication project on Waiheke Island showed “getting the first, larger groups is relatively straightforward and simple, but getting the last ones is really hard”.

Professional hunters will be contracted to cull feral goats from an area of about 46,300 hectares, which included 40,000ha in the Kaimai Mamaku Conservation Park and 10 blocks of other DoC land totalling about 6300ha.

“This is a highly professional operation where the areas are divided up into particular hunting blocks, and they will go in and they will cull through the block.

“They will not be using toxins or poisons.”

Saunders said it was important to use professional hunters instead of recreational hunters.

“The idea is by having professional cullers, like the snipers of the hunting world, then every goat is killed every time they are seen. [The goats] never get an opportunity to learn, to become wary or to change their behaviour so that means your chances of success in eradication are significantly higher.”

Saunders said tangata whenua ākonga (students) had gained their firearms licence and trained alongside expert cullers in the lead-up to the project.

“The project teams are working tirelessly to restore the mauri of the Kaimai Mamaku,” she said.

Toi Moana Bay of Plenty Regional Council biosecurity officer Juliet Brebner said the partnerships involved in the project put the programme in a great position to build on the excellent past work.

“The ambitious goal of eradicating goats in the Kaimai Mamaku over a shorter timeframe is a great step towards meeting our long-term goal of eradicating goats across the Western Bay of Plenty and Rotorua rohe by 2045,” she said.

Eradicating feral goats was not new and had been achieved at Te Papakura o Taranaki.

“The results of a thriving forest are already visible.”

It had also been tried on the Auckland and Cuvier Islands and in the Hunua Ranges.

DoC senior ranger Brad Angus, who had managed goat control contracts in the Kaimai Mamaku for years, said partnering with other agencies and groups ensured meaningful and large-scale biodiversity work could be completed faster.

“We’ve seen great success in partnering with local groups who know their rohe better than anyone.”

Since the Joint Agency Partnership was formally established in 2020, restoration and conservation work had significantly increased in the Kaimai Mamaku.

Along with community projects and initiatives, 10 iwi/hapū-led projects, initially funded through Jobs for Nature, had installed almost 7500ha of additional pest animal control infrastructure.

Waikato Regional Council senior biodiversity officer Andrew Thomas welcomed the funding.

“Browsing by ungulates, including feral goats, continues to undermine our collective efforts to restore the forests in the Kaimai and Mamaku Ranges,” he said.

“Removing feral goats is one of the many things we need to do to ensure these forests successfully recover.”

Potaka said the funding would enable aerial and ground hunting of the destructive species to help preserve “one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most unique conservation parks”.

The park marked the northern limit of plants such as kāmahi, red and silver beech, and the southern limit of kauri.

It is also home to native species such as kiwi, kōkako, pekapeka and Hochstetter’s frog.

“It’s a natural gateway between Auckland and Rotorua and has many tracks including family friendly walks, significant heritage sites, huts, camping, hunting and mountain biking.

“We must protect the precious flora and fauna at this park.”