Abstract
This book was prepared to celebrate 21 years of dune restoration on Rakiura (Stewart Island)
by the Department of Conservation and former government agencies. The focus is the period
since aerial spray operations commenced at Doughboy Bay in February 1999; however, the
foundation for this work was laid in the early 1980s, during a period of ground control of
marram grass (Ammophila arenaria) on Whenua Hou (Codfish Island), and beaches on the
the northeast coast of Rakiura. The Rakiura Dune Restoration Programme has since evolved to
encompass almost all the major dune systems on Rakiura, making it the largest and longest-running
coastal dune restoration programme in the world.