District surveyed for value

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 11, Issue 512, 16 November 1993, Page 13

District surveyed for value

A team of seven Massey University science students is gearing up to spend the next three months surveying Department of Conservation and private land in the Rangitikei district to see what natural values it has. DoC scientist Colin Ogle says the team which started work on 15 November will survey an area from north of Marton to Waiouru and from the Ruahines to the Paraparas. It covers an area of about 408 thousand hectares, or just over four thousand square kilometres. The students will start with existing knowledge about the area, including maps and aerial photographs and then walk through each area to identify what's in it. "The survey also aims to fill in the gaps in our knowledge about what's in existing reserves and to see what type of habitats aren't represented in them," said Ogle. "We've never had a scenic reserve survey in the Rangitikei area even though they've been done elsewhere around the country. In broad terms we know what's in them but we don't have specifics." "We can't prioritise what needs to be protected if we don't know what we've got," he said. Mr Ogle says landowners will be asked for permission to survey private land and they will be the first to be told what's on their land and why it's important. They '11 then be welcome to discuss ways of protecting their important natural areas. "It's not a question of protecting every native tree on any piece of land but of protecting particular spots which are representative of different vegetation and landform types in the area."