In just over 100 years…
....logging, gum-digging, and burning transformed the northern landscape from forest to farmland.
A final push to extract the last of the kauri swept through the north in the 1920s–30s, reducing the beleaguered forests to the few patches surviving today. Despite being reduced to less than 5% of their former extent, new generations of kauri forests are once more thrusting up through the scrub wherever areas of marginal farmland are abandoned. Kauri is the ultimate survivor.
Conservation and Community
Yakas Kauri Tree Waipoua Forest
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Wherever kauri forest grows in Northland, Maori and local communities are now contributing towards its conservation. Key organisations in Northland actively protect the natural taonga (treasures) of the kauri forests. These groups are converting farmland back to its original bush state. They plant kauri seedlings, trap pests to help protect precious birdlife and educate people who visit the forest.
Northland Kauri Forest Care Code
Toitu te whenua - Leave the land undisturbed
- New Zealand’s forests and birds are unique and rare. They are national treasures. Damaging or removing plants is illegal in most parts of the country & destroys part of the environment.
- Boardwalks and tracks are provided for your comfort & protection of the forest floor. Keep to the track; do not stray off as you will damage fragile plants & the kauri tree root system which is very shallow.
- Light no fires. Fire is one of the greatest threats to our natural environment & the wildlife that lives in it.
- Remove & dispose of your rubbish properly.
- Know where there are toilets. Where there is a toilet, use it. Giardia is a parasite which can survive in cold water & is mainly spread as a result of poorly disposed toilet waste.
- Many places have special spiritual or historical significance to all New Zealanders. Some places are sacred to Maori, while other sites have important historical values, respect the value they hold for us.
- For further information visit the Department of Conservation
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