2005 season onwards. 14 March — Application lodged for mining black sands off the west coast of the North Island. 1 April - The Income Tax Act 2004, which makes it easier to claim environmental expenditure, comes into force. 22 April — Landsborough Station purchased. 1 May — Pesticides blamed for killing native frogs. 26 May — Environment Court rules in favour of Solid Energy for the Cypress mine. 1 July — Molesworth Station transferred from LINZ to DoC. 28 July — First criminal conviction for killing a fur seal is handed down. September — Rock snot found in the Buller River. November — Last remaining use of reusable glass milk bottles will end. 18 November — Cavers protest about potential damage to Te Tahi Cave when used for adventure racing. 20 December — A tunnel is proposed to link Queenstown and the Milford Sound road. 2006 26 January — New Zealand is rated top in the Pilot 2006 Environmental Performance Index. February — The fishing industry proposes limits on bottom trawling. 17 March — Proposal to build a gondola between Queenstown and the Milford Sound road is postponed. 8 April — A pipe bomb is used to blow up a conservationists letterbox. 9 - 12 April — Geckos are stolen from a Christchurch zoo but later recovered. 12 May - An application for proposed aerial walkway in the Hokitika Scenic Reserve is rejected by Department of Conservation. 24 October — The WWF Living Planet report ranks New Zealand with the ninth largest per capita ecological footprint. 30 November — Great white sharks will be protected within New Zealand's EEZ from April 2007. 2007 January — DoC considers that almost half of the native plants and animals are threatened. 20 February — Wa$ted!, a programme investigating household sustainability, begins a two-season run on New Zealand television. 23 March — Prime Minister Helen Clark puts forward aspirations for New Zealand to be the first sustainable country. 4 April — The OECD releases a report on the performance of the New Zealand Government. 4 April — Bottom trawling is prohibited in selected areas. 30 May — Government gives $9.88 million to clean up the Tui mine tailings site. 30 November — The orange roughy fishery is closed to allow stocks of the fish to recover. 13 December — The proposed tunnel linking Queenstown and Milford Sound is blocked by the New Zealand