Part of Te Urewera National Park has been recognised as one of the top 25 ecological restoration sites in Australasia.
The 50,000 Te Urewera Mainland Island is one of eight New Zealand sites selected by the international Global Restoration Network organisation.
The Department of Conservation established the mainland island at the northern end of the park in 1996, after a survey two years earlier showed the number of North Island kokako in the park had dropped to only eight pairs.
Acting Opotiki Area Manager Andy Bassett says after a decade of sustained pest control there are now 112 pairs of the bird.
He says other bird species have also benefitted from the ecological restoration.