Using digger ‘no way’ to trim trees
A man who saw trees on Mt Taranaki ‘‘smashed’’ by a digger says the method of trimming them is unacceptable.
Glen Hodges was on the mountain over the weekend and took a number of photos of trees along the North Egmont Translator Road, which goes from the North Egmont Visitor Centre to the Tahurangi Lodge.
‘‘The trees are being smashed without any thought for their future growth or survival,’’ he said. ‘‘This is totally unacceptable in an environment that is fragile and subject to erosion if the plant life is destroyed in this way.’’
If too many trees were taken out or trimmed back they would take years to grow back and would ruin the walk, he said.
Other members from the alpine club were with Hodges at the time and he said they also disagreed with the method.
‘‘I guess from our perspective, it’s quite nice to see a good level of preservation up there,’’ he said.
A small digger was at the site, equipped with a hedge trimmer which Hodges said appeared to be a rotary chain flail.
‘‘I’ve never seen that sort of machinery used to trim trees in a national park before,’’ he said. ‘‘There are more cleaner ways to do trimming like this.
‘‘This may be acceptable in a farm to clear gorse or blackberry but not in a public place and a national park.’’
The 47-year-old lives in Hamilton, but said he travels down to tramp on the mountain at least once or twice a month.
He said the Department of Conservation (DOC) was usually cautious around organisations working inside the park and he said they had not looked after their responsibility this time.
‘‘I would now suggest DOC need to repair what brutal damage has been done, and prosecute the guilty party,’’ he said.
‘‘In the photos where the excavator is parked this used to be a fantastic little area where children enjoyed building snowmen in winter, it is difficult to understand why approximately 20 metres of native vegetation has been destroyed. For what?’’
He sent a photo of the trees to a friend who works for DOC, and told him something needed to be done about it.
DOC director of operations Gareth Hopkins said the approved maintenance was being carried out by the telecommunications company, Kordia. He said the ‘‘regular’’ work allowed them to service the translators and telecommunications equipment near the Tahurangi Lodge and was ‘‘vital for safe access and continual drainage in an area of high rainfall’’.
‘‘The road maintenance is routine and involves cutting back the vegetation and reopening the water tables after the winter to improve drainage.’’
He said the lower section was being worked on, and the upper section would be next.