Iwi and conservation workers are excited by the potential of a new type of possum trap being trialled in Tai Tokerau and Urewera forests.
The traps can reset themselves up to nine times after a killing a possum.
DoC's manager at the Waipoua kauri forest base, Meirene Hardy-Birch, says the traps kill humanely, with one stabbing blow to the possum's head.
She says if they prove themselves, the traps will also be a boon to iwi and community groups doing pest control.
The Green Party, who campaigned for the traps, say they could revolutionise pest control in Aotearoa by making ground trapping affordable for DoC, and reducing 1080 drops in some areas.
The Greens and Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson launched the official trial of the new traps on Friday in Northland's Trounson Kauri Park.
