New national park proposed

Press, 24 March 1977, Page 14

New national park proposed

Wellington reporter

The proposal that an area in the Paparoa Range and the Charleston State forest in the Buller area be declared a national park is being considered by the National Parks Authority. The suggestion was made by the Wellingtonbased conservation group, Action for Environment, and the director of national parks (Mr D. D. Mitchell) said the authority would consider it, with other proposals. About one-twelfth of New Zealand is already in parks, and it is thought that future parks may be hard to secure. But the National Parks Authority is known to be looking at a number of areas already, and the proposed park may well be in or near one of the areas being investigated. There is more than iust a suspicion that Action

for Environment has made the proposal to stifle Forest Service activities in the area.

In making the proposal, 1 the secretary of Action for < Environment (Mrs Helen Ramforth) said that if it '. went ahead “the Forest Service would be obliged to cease al! destructive logging in the region, and abandon its plans for con- 4 verting large areas of ' native forest to pme plan- • tations.”

Most of the area proposed lies within State - forests, and Mrs Rainforth said other conservation groups had expressed their support for this proposal. “This area, with its magnificent beech and rimu forests, its inter--' esting limestone formations and cave systems, along with the craggy peaks of the Paparoa Range, could become ar/' - outstanding tourist attraction and recreational asset,” she said.