Air NZ

In 2012 Air NZ sponsored a new project to restore bird life and habitats at five Great Walk sites, the Routeburn being one.

37km new lines of stoat traps were placed in the Routeburn, Rockburn and Beansburn Valleys, doubling the number of traps to one every 200m. Two extra staff were employed to install, check and re-bait them for the 2012 - 14 seasons; the latter increased the traps to one trap every 100m. These trap lines will improve the survival of whio in the these valleys and prepared the area for re-introduction of whio in the 2014/15 summer.

Air NZ's sponsorship programme was then extended to 2020.