Community Consultation 

Onetahua Farewell Spit and the wider area is valued by the local community for the landscape, wildlife, solitude, remoteness, history, affordable lifestyle, family connections, as a food basket, and a place to farm. 

Residents want to see the area remain quiet with nature enhanced. Less pests and weeds, more ecotourism, better roads and cycleways and more community connections.

Nearly 90% of local people surveyed are supportive of Pest Free Onetahua , but also recognise it's an ambitious task that must be carefully planned and perhaps done in stages. 

Most people agree rats, stoats, possums and pigs are the worst predators -  a few want pigs to remain to support their hunting activities.
Their main concerns were:
- will funding be adequate to do the job and maintain the gains?
- will enhanced conservation values lead to increased restrictions on access and activity?
- community division. 
- the use of 1080, especially near waterways, and it's environmental effects on the landscape and native species.
-interference to their privacy, lifestyle and farming operations. 

Most people that were contacted were happy to have trapping carried out on their private land, but wanted good communication about progress. 

Some are excited about the opportunity for increased employment in the area.

Some want more freedom and less restrictions to live and farm as one chooses.