Lou Sanson | |
|---|---|
 Sanson in 2022 | |
| 6th Director-General of Conservation | |
| In office September 2013 –September 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Al Morrison |
| Succeeded by | Penny Nelson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Lewis Vernon Sanson 1957 Hokitika,New Zealand |
| Alma mater | University of Canterbury |
| Occupation | Public servant |
Lewis Vernon Sanson QSO NZAM (born 1957) [1] is the former director of the New Zealand Department of Conservation.
Sanson was born circa 1956 [2] in Hokitika on the West Coast of the South Island. He attended Hokitika Primary School and Westland High School. His parents were both teachers at Westland High School:his mother Alison taught art and his father Trevor mathematics. [3] Sanson's father,who died in 2003,was an engineer who spent a year in the 1960s supervising studies in Antarctica,to which Sanson attributes his early interest in the continent. [3] [2] Growing up in the West Coast was the source of his "love of conservation and the natural environment";his mother first took him to the mountains at the age of five. As a teenager he regularly explored the forests of South Westland,staying in forestry huts. [3] He was part of a Westland High School environmental group who in 1971 stopped native forest logging by the New Zealand Forest Service in the Hokitika Gorge. [3]
Sanson's first paid job was for the Forest Service in 1971,at the age of 17,as a track cutter in the Copland Valley,now Westland Tai Poutini National Park. [3] He then completed a Bachelor of Forestry degree at the University of Canterbury,with a thesis on wilding pine in the Abel Tasman National Park. [4] [5] For two years,he was an environmental forester in the Forest Research Institute,followed by work in pest control and forest surveying,eventually becoming District Forester in Southland. [4] Based in Invercargill,he stayed there for 22 years. [2] After the Department of Conservation (DOC) was formed in 1987,he took up the position of Southland Conservator (a managerial role),aged just 30. [6]
Sanson made the first of around 50 trips to Antarctica in 1981,spending five months working as a field assistant. [2] From 2002 to 2013,Sanson was based in Christchurch as the chief executive of Antarctica New Zealand,a post he admitted he held onto "a little too long",while waiting for the top role at the Department of Conservation to become available. [7] He assisted with the formation of the McMurdo Dry Valleys Protected Area and the Ross Sea Region Marine Protected Area,in 2007 took Sir Edmund Hillary on his last visit to Antarctica,and helped set up the New Zealand Antarctic Research Institute in 2012. [3] In November 2013,he was appointed chief executive and director-general of conservation for DOC. [8]
Sanson arrived at DOC at a time when repeated budget cuts had created an unsafe work culture,culminating in the Cave Creek disaster. [2] During his time at DOC,Sanson expanded commercial partnerships and sometimes-controversial sponsorship arrangements with companies like Fonterra and Air New Zealand. [7] He oversaw the creation of Rakiura National Park and the Sub-Antarctic Islands World Heritage Area,the launch of the Predator Free 2050 strategy,and the rat eradication on Campbell Island. Sanson was the Crown negotiator for the Ngāi Tahu Deed Settlement Act on the TītīIslands and Whenua Hou Settlements. During his tenure DOC saw significant funding increases:$76m for tourism infrastructure and predator control in 2017,$181m for biodiversity from the newly elected Labour government,and the $500m Jobs for Nature COVID-19 recovery scheme. [7] After two three-year terms and an extension of two years,he retired in September 2021. [6] Sanson planned to volunteer for Predator Free 2050 and the Backcountry Trust (which maintains tramping huts). [9]
When leaving his role at DOC,it paid over $5,000 on leaving presents for Sanson. The expense was criticised by the Taxpayers' Union and Sanson had suggested returning the presents after learning the value and that DOC had paid for them. He thought they had been bought by staff and ministers. [10]
In the 2015 New Year Honours,Sanson was awarded the New Zealand Antarctic Medal for his services to Antarctic science and conservation. [11] In the 2022 New Year Honours,he was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order,for services to conservation and public service. [12]
Sanson and his wife Jan have two daughters. After Sanson's retirement,the couple moved in December 2021 from their Miramar,Wellington home to Wānaka. [4] [7]
D'Urville Island,Māori name Rangitoto ki te Tonga,is the largest island in the Marlborough Sounds,on the northern coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It was named after the French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville. With an area of approximately 150 square kilometres (58 sq mi),it is the eighth-largest island of New Zealand,and has around 52 permanent residents. The local authority is the Marlborough District Council.
The West Coast is a region of New Zealand on the west coast of the South Island that is administered by the West Coast Regional Council,and is known co-officially as Te Tai Poutini. It comprises the territorial authorities of Buller District,Grey District and Westland District. The principal towns are Westport,Greymouth and Hokitika. The region,one of the more remote areas of the country,is also the most sparsely populated. With a population of just 32,900 people,the West Coast is the least populous region in New Zealand. The population in the region grew by 0.4% over the year to July 2023.
Hokitika is a town in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island,40 kilometres (25 mi) south of Greymouth,and close to the mouth of the Hokitika River. It is the seat and largest town in the Westland District. The town's estimated population is 3,120 as of June 2023.
The Taramakau River is a river of the West Coast Region of the South Island of New Zealand. It rises in the Southern Alps / KāTiritiri o te Moana near Harper Pass,80 kilometres (50 mi) due east of Hokitika,and runs westward for 75 kilometres (47 mi) into the Tasman Sea 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south of Greymouth.
Lake Kaniere is a glacial lake located on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island,nearly 200 m deep and surrounded on three sides by mountains and mature rimu forest. It is regarded by many as the most beautiful of the West Coast lakes,and is a popular tourist and leisure destination.
Westland Tai Poutini National Park is a national park located on the western coast of New Zealand's South Island. Established in 1960 as Westland National Park to commemorate the centenary of the European settlement of Westland District,it covers 1,320 square kilometres of largely mountainous terrain and forest. The park borders the Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park along the Main Divide of the Southern Alps / KāTiritiri o te Moana,and includes many of the West Coast's glaciers,most notably including the Fox / Te Moeka o Tuawe and Franz Josef / KāRoimata o Hine Hukatere glaciers.
The Westland petrel(Procellaria westlandica),,also known as the Westland black petrel,is a moderately large seabird in the petrel family Procellariidae,that is endemic to New Zealand. Described by Robert Falla in 1946,it is a stocky bird weighing approximately 1,100 grams (39 oz),and is one of the largest of the burrowing petrels. It is a dark blackish-brown colour with black legs and feet. It has a pale yellow bill with a dark tip.
The Okarito kiwi,also known as the rowi or Okarito brown kiwi,is a member of the kiwi family Apterygidae,described as new to science in 2003. The species is part of the brown kiwi complex,and is morphologically very similar to other members of that complex. It is found in a restricted area of the Ōkārito forest on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island,and has a population of only about 600 birds.
Lake Mahinapua is a shallow lake on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. Once a lagoon at the mouth of the Hokitika River,it became a lake when the river shifted its course. Lake Māhinapua was the site of a significant battle between Ngāi Tahu and Ngāti Wairangi Māori,and is regarded by them as a sacred site where swimming and fishing are prohibited. In European times it was part of an inland waterway that carried timber and settlers between Hokitika and Ross until the building of the railway. Today it is protected as a scenic reserve for boating,camping,and hiking.
Fox Glacier,called Weheka until the 1940s,is a village on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. The village is close to the eponymous Fox Glacier / Te Moeka o Tuawe.
Gerald Stanley Clark was a New Zealand sailor,writer and ornithologist. He is notable for his ornithological research work on subantarctic islands and for his circumnavigation of Antarctica in his self-built yacht Totorore.
Bruce Bay is a bay and settlement in South Westland,New Zealand on the Tasman Sea. It is located on State Highway 6,74 kilometres (46 mi) northeast of Haast and 45 kilometres (28 mi) southwest of Fox Glacier. The small settlement of Bruce Bay is located just south of the mouth of Mahitahi River. The bay is a nesting ground for the Fiordland crested penguin,and endemic Hector's dolphins and southern right whales can be observed from the shore on occasion. Some of the bush around the bay has been cleared for farming,and quartz stones can be found on the beach.
The NEXT Foundation is a privately funded New Zealand strategic philanthropy foundation launched in March 2014. It has a mandate to spend down $100 million over 10 years into environmental and educational projects that will benefit future generations of New Zealanders. NEXT Foundation invests in a small number of multi year initiatives with both financial and non financial support. It targets initiatives that are transformational,inspirational and run in a business like way.
Kerry-Jayne Wilson was a New Zealand biologist and lecturer in ecology at Lincoln University in the Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Sir Robert George Mappin Fenwick was a New Zealand environmentalist,businessman and professional director.
The Chesterfield or Kapitia skink is a species of skink found in New Zealand. Only discovered in 1994 and for years not recognised as a distinct species,it is endemic to a narrow 1 km strip of coastal vegetation on the West Coast of New Zealand,15 km north of Hokitika. There are fewer than 200 individuals remaining in the wild. Oligosoma salmo is the only New Zealand skink with a prehensile tail,suggesting it was once arboreal and inhabited coastal forest,which was subsequently cleared for dairy farming. Following the partial destruction of its remaining habitat in 2018 by a cyclone,a small captive breeding population was established at Auckland Zoo.
Hokitika Museum is a museum in Hokitika on the West Coast of the South Island in New Zealand,and is the West Coast's largest museum and archive. It is housed in the historic Hokitika Carnegie Library building. Exhibitions include information about the gold rush and the unique West Coast stone pounamu (greenstone) and its value to Māori. The museum also holds a significant photographic collection. Seismic strengthening requirements closed the museum in September 2019. According to the Westland District Council Web site as of December 2021 the museum had not yet reopened.
Hokitika Gorge and the surrounding Hokitika Gorge Scenic Reserve are a major tourist destination some 33 kilometres (21 mi) or 40 minutes drive inland from Hokitika,New Zealand. Since August 2020,a second suspension bridge over the Hokitika River at the gorge provides the opportunity for a round track.
The West Coast Wildlife Centre is a kiwi-rearing facility in Franz Josef,New Zealand. A public-private partnership with the Department of Conservation and Te Rūnunga o Makaawhio of Ngāi Tahu,it hatches eggs of the kiwi species rowi and Haast tokoeka retrieved from the wild. It rears the chicks until they are large enough for transfer to outdoor enclosures as part of Operation Nest Egg. More than 50 per cent of all living rowi were hatched at the Wildlife Centre. It is also a tourist attraction with several captive tuatara,museum displays,and tours of the rearing facility.
Lake Gault is a small glacial lake in South Westland,New Zealand,near the township of Fox Glacier. A walking track from Lake Matheson leads to the lake,which is surrounded by mature native forest. A small hydro-electric power plant was constructed piping water from the lake to power a gold mining dredge at Gillespies Beach. Endangered Ōkārito kiwi (rowi) have been released into the wild around Lake Gault.
Media related to Lou Sanson at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
