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The site was identified as important in 2014 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting ('triggering') IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('trigger species') at the site:

Species	Red List1	Season	Year(s)	Size	IBA criteria
Australasian Bittern Botaurus poiciloptilus	VU	resident	-	present	A1
Black-billed Gull Larus bulleri	NT	breeding	1970-2014	5,095-7,686 breeding pairs	A1, A4i
Black-fronted Tern Chlidonias albostriatus	EN	breeding	1981-2010	149-279 breeding pairs	A1, A4i

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2014) may differ.

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2014. The most recent assessment (2014) is shown below.

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Invasive and other problematic species and genes	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high
Climate change and severe weather	likely in short term (within 4 years)	some of area/population (10-49%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	medium
Human intrusions and disturbance	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Biological resource use	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Natural system modifications	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Pollution	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Not assessed	Not assessed	Not assessed	not assessed

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
1931	Maori Lakes	Nature Reserve	1
1957	Maori Lakes Wildlife Refuge	Wildlife Refuge	3
1987	Rangitata/Rakaia Head Waters	Stewardship Area	2
1987	Ashburton River	Stewardship Area	1
1987	Barrosa	Stewardship Area	<1
1988	Maori Lakes	Stewardship Area	<1
2007	Hakatere	Conservation Park	9
2008	Hakatere	Stewardship Area	2

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Grassland		major (>10)
Introduced vegetation		major (>10)
Shrubland		major (>10)
Wetlands (inland)		major (>10)
Marine Intertidal		minor (<10)

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Ashburton River (New Zealand). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/ashburton-river-iba-new-zealand on 22/11/2024.