The Reserve and Its Management

The New Island South Nature Reserve covers half of the surface of the island. It is a privately run reserve, although it is also classified as a National Nature Reserve. As a private reserve, New Island South saw the first pioneering conservation and management efforts in the Falklands context: introduced large mammals (pigs, sheep and cattle) were eradicated from it over twenty five years ago. This was the first land-based wildlife tourism operation in the Falklands and also one of the first places to receive regular visits from tourist ships to appreciate its exceptional wildlife.

New Island is an Important Bird Area (IBA), hosting the largest seabird colony in the Falkland Islands, and significant populations of several globally threatened species. New Island has valuable research facilities, including a field-station with accommodation, office and laboratory space, and many researchers have used it as a base over the last 30 years, producing a number of publications in international scientific literature.

New Island North
In September 2006, the New Island South Conservation Trust acquired the northern half of New Island, formerly belonging to Tony & Kim Chater and known as New Island North. Now the entire island is under the NISCT's ownership, and on September 13th 2006, the New Island South Conservation Trust was officially renamed, and is now the New Island Conservation Trust.
Effectively this means that New Island is one complete nature reserve under the Trust, (although the New Island North property was previously run as a Private Reserve also). The New Island Conservation Trust now intends to expand its important conservation research to all areas of New Island.

The New Island Management Plan 2007
(currently detailed for the Southern half of the island only)

In December 2004, the New Island South Reserve put forward a Management Plan proposal to the Overseas Territories Environment Programme (OTEP), and in February 2005, the Reserve was granted OTEP funding for the implementation and completion of this plan. In July 2007 the completed New Island Management Plan was published and is now available in hard copy form (please contact Ian Strange for details on how to obtain a copy).

For more information & a preview of the published Management Plan in PDF format, please click here

Some of the important activities that this management plan involves are summerised below:

Completion of a Biodiversity Inventory Fieldwork to study the distribution and abundance of bird and mammal species was completed in the austral spring/summer season 2005/06. Fieldwork included counts of breeding seabirds and seals, counts of raptors and waterfowl and assessments of the distribution of passerines and other terrestrial species with distribution maps subsequently being produced. Results of these surveys and a selection of the distribution maps are available for viewing in the current hard-copy Management Plan.

Straited Caracara: These birds of prey are on the International Red List of threatened species; New Island provides a protected breeding area for them Photo © G. Strange . 2006

Population Dynamics and Foraging Ecology of Black-browed Albatross
As a Globally Endangered species (IUCN Redlist), the New Island Reserve's research into the Black-browed Albatross will provide essential data to assess the factors underlying their population trends. This research was commenced by Dr Paulo Catry in 2003, and will continue until 2010. In addition to population dynamics, the feeding specialisations of albatross and a range of behavioural studies are also being conducted.
Please click on either of the links below to go to find out more:
Black-browed Albatross Population Dynamics Study - Scientific Research Page
Click here to view Black-browed Albatross Research & Census work in the current Management Plan

Black-browed Albatross Aerial Surveys
In addtion to the above study, results from long-term monitoring of Black-browed Albatross populations in the Falkland Islands, including New Island South, have been published in the current New Island Management Plan. An outline of these findings can be viewed in the preview pages of the Management Plan or in the Scientific Research page of this website.

Assessment of the Impacts of Tourism
Comparisons of breeding success and behaviour of Rockhopper Penguins and King Cormorants in visited and undisturbed areas of the Settlement colony was carried out in the summer season of 2005/2006. Full details of this study are available in the New Island 2007 Management Plan.

Dismantlement of fences
Many fences were left standing on New Island from past farming activities and can be a hazzard to wildlife. The removal of fencing lines on the South reserve was completed in 2006, and their continued removal from the North end is an activity is being carried out by volunteers working on the island.

Construction of a Visitor's Centre
The Barnard Building is one of the Falkland Islands' most important historical buildings, dating back to 1812 when Captain Charles H Barnard was marooned on New Island. The restoration of this building is the foundation for our Visitor's Centre and museum. Work began in October 2005 with the repair of the building's stone walls and flooring, construction of a new roof, and new windows and doors. In the 2006-07 season work on the interior of the building was completed and the Captain Barnard Visitor's Centre now houses many interesting and unique artifacts relating to New Island's fascinating history. The centre also presents custom-made information displays, offering visitors information about the island's history, wildlife, conservation projects and more.

See images below...

Work begins: October 2005	Offloading building materials
The hard-working building crew	Roof complete: November 2005
Building exterior complete