NORTHERN BRANCH ISLANDS MANGROVES KAURI

Forest and Bird, Volume 19, Issue 1, 1 February 1988, Page 26

NORTHERN BRANCH ISLANDS MANGROVES KAURI

Gerry Brackenbury

New Forest and Bird branches have sprung up all over the country in recent years. One such is the Northern branch, based in

Whangarei: Their vice chairperson Alan Willis and committee member

nave written tnis articie on the trials and

tribulations of forming a branch and on the main issues in their region.

he Northern branch was originally set up in 1985 as a section on the recommendation of the mid-North branch, which helped to get the ball rolling with a $100 donation. However, in the initial stages lack of finance was a hurdle which was partly overcome by committee members generously donating their own funds to get the branch running. We feel the branch has achieved much in our two short years of existence, and our enthusiasm remains high through thick and thin. One of our initiatives has been the turning back of Limestone Island (Matakohe Island) from pasture to bush, thereby creating a valuable bush reserve close to the heart of Whangarei city. Initially we wanted the whole island to be replanted, but it was soon brought to our attention that the island had many other values — it is also rich in Maori and Pakeha history. A rare

ringed ditch pa is clearly visible on the summit and the whole north-facing slope contained agriculture lines. At this point local Maori also became actively interested in the project. Many meetings later — with the Historic Places Trust, Te Roopu kaumatua, Whangarei City Council, Northland Harbour Board, QE II National Trust and the Whangarei County Council — we feel that our ideas are gaining acceptance and it will not be long before Whangarei has one more jewel in its environmental crown. Another issue our branch has been getting its teeth into is an attempt to reintroduce bellbirds into Northland. This has been an exercise in frustration and bureaucracy. Gerry Brackenbury first wrote letters three years ago to various interested parties with mixed results. However, with the creation of the Conservation Department, there is now a stronger likelihood that Northland will

once again be the home of this beautiful bird. The two issues we have put most effort into recently are our attempts to save mangroves in Whangarei Harbour and to retain Punaruku kauri forest within the Conservation Department.

Mangroves

In the upper reaches of Whangarei Harbour stands a small residual example of mature mangrove trees that must have been there for a very long time. One of the largest measures 10 metres in height and just over one metre in diameter. Unfortunately over time fewer and fewer mangroves have remained here, as they have been used as convenient rubbish tips. Permission was obtained in the early 1970s to flatten and reclaim this vestigial area of 10 hectares. All that is standing is four hectares; the rest is. parking space for trucks.

Even though the tide of public opinion has switched against further mangrove destruction, and the Northland Harbour Board has accepted this, the fact still remains that permission was given to destroy these magnificent mature mangroves. We have been making every effort to stall the Harbour Board while at the same time looking for a

legal loophole to prevent the mangroves from disappearing. At one stage I (Gerry Brackenbury) visited the area every day, and every day I saw a little more disappear. Our branch even offered to lease the site from the Harbour Board and were quoted $3000, which was a far greater annual sum than we could afford. A ‘‘friend at court’

who deserves the highest praise is Wally Redwood, a Whangarei City Councillor and member of the Northland Harbour Board. Wally has helped us and fought our cause in the boardroom and council chamber, often single handed. At the time of writing the situation is precariously balanced. The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment is sympathetic but seemingly powerless, the City Council is not prepared to condone the reclamation (thanks to Wally Redwood) and the Conservation Department has been asked to take an active interest in the issue. In the meantime the Harbour Board has now Offered to reserve the four hectares, but wants to reclaim the river in front of the mangroves to accommodate a boat builder who is desperate for water access to his business. Further down the harbour are hundreds of businesses right next to the water, such as spray painters, panel beaters and carpet factories, none of them in the slightest bit bothered by the water lapping their feet and their businesses! We are convinced any reclamation of this unusual design will spell disaster for the mangroves in the long term.

Punaruku

On the eastern side of Northland between the Bay of Islands in the north and the small township of Hukerenui to the south lies Russell State Forest. This is the largest continuous piece of forest in the region, comprising nearly 10,000 ha, and at the southern end of this forest lies Punaruku. Some forests have a way of bouncing back in spite of what people do to them, and Russell State Forest in general (with Punaruku in particular) is a case in point. The whole area has in the past been burned, logged, grazed, had broadleaf trees and tanekaha ringbarked throughout since the early 1950s, been replanted and is now naturally regenerating. Pre-European Maori had a close relationship with the forest, using it as a food, timber and spiritual source. While most lived in the protective pa that dotted the coastline, the local tangata whenua also had pa sites in the forest. Punaruku has a number of pa sites, urupa and tapu areas, and contains the sacred giant kauri, Horiwehiwehi. Punaruku is 3000 ha in extent and is the largest continuous sequence of regenerating kauri in the country. Because of this the area was designated under the ‘‘Kauri Forest Management Review," for kauri extraction up to 800 cubic metres a year. Initially all of Russell State Forest was earmarked for production, but conservationists on the Northland Park Advisory Committee several years ago reduced this to the Punaruku and Papakauri blocks. This was fortuitous, as local conservationists might now be fighting to save the whole of Russell forest, not just Punaruku. Following the creation of the State Owned Enterprises, Punaruku was initially handed over to the Forestry Corporation because it was regarded as a ‘management area.’’ Since then the block has been placed in the Lands Department; part of it is to be reviewed by the Waitangi Tribunal as a land claim has been lodged by the local Ngati Wai. Besides the kauri, a number of reasons make Punaruku a special area. It has been classified as having high wildlife values by the Wildlife Service (Ogle 1982) and contains important habitat for a number of endangered birds such as kaka. Kokako were last seen in Punaruku in 1961, the endemic New Zealand falcon in 1979, and brown teal occupy the lower reaches of the Punaruku Stream, outside the forest. Other birds of note found here are the pied tit (not a common Northland bird), kiwi and native pigeon. The vegetation is a mosaic, reflecting the bush fires at the turn of the century and before, past logging and ‘‘kauri management.’’ The most mature forest is confined to the valley heads and steep gullies. Most of the ridge tops support stands of secondary pole kauri which has lost some of its associated podocarp and hardwood species through ringbarking — including Hall's totara, tawa, taraire, and kohekohe. Off the ridge tops hardwood/podocarp forest occurs. Kahikatea is abundant in the low lying areas and along stream beds. A hybrid tree, seemingly a cross between a northern rata and a pohutukawa, is recorded near Pukemoremore trig, although it is probably

doomed thanks to possum browsing. Nigel Clunie, DSIR botanist in Kaikohe, considers Punaruku to be "‘by far the largest and best stand of regenerating kauri in the country.’ It has been estimated that approximately 25 percent of regenerating kauri in Eastern Northland’s public estate is found in the forest. We cannot understand why a commer-cially-minded company like the Forestry

Corporation wants to log Punaruku. The 100-year-old sapwood that will come from the forest is virtually unmarketable. Instead the Corporation would do better to save the 45,000 ha of kauri estate on private land. This would ensure that part of the private kauri estate could be managed on a sustained yield basis, leaving Punaruku and other public kauri forests to recover from the ravages of humans. 9