Call to shut public out of kauri forests
Forest and Bird has closed all its reserves that have kauri trees and has challenged the Government to close all kauri forests to stop the spread of kauri dieback disease.
The society owns seven reserves with kauri trees: Matthews Reserve near Kaitaia, Matuku Reserve near Bethells Beach, Colin Kerr-Taylor Reserve at Waimauku, Onetangi and Goodwin-Te Haahi Reserves on Waiheke Island, Ngaheretuku Reserve at Clevedon and the Morgan Reserve near Waihi.
Chief executive Kevin Hague said the reserves, covering 250ha, have been closed to the public, and called on the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to close all other kauri forests in the country.
“MPI’s leadership of the national programme is so dire and slow that it is being left up to conservation and community groups, local councils, and iwi to try and deal with a crisis situation,” he said.
“We believe all healthy kauri forests must be closed as a priority until we know how to stop the spread of kauri dieback disease.”
MPI said it welcomed all efforts to protect kauri and had been working in partnership with many organisations to support their local efforts.
“However, we are disappointed at the inaccurate claims made by Forest & Bird in light of significant efforts being made to combat the disease and to engage with them,” it said.
Auckland Council closed much of the Waita¯ kere Ranges and high-risk tracks in the Hunua Ranges in May to stop the spread of dieback, which has infected kauri in Auckland, the Coromandel and Northland’s Waipoua Forest, home to the famous tree Ta¯ ne Mahuta.
Kauri Park on Auckland’s North Shore was also closed last week after a tree was found to be infected.