Conservationists concerned

Press, 11 April 1978, Page 16

Conservationists concerned

The alliance of Environment and Conservation Organisations. (E.C.0.) has adopted an action front for the procetion of remaining virgin native forests, and native wildlife of the West Taupo ranges, the vice-chairman of E.C.0., Mr Robert Fantl, announced last week. The Minister of Forests (Mr Venn Young) has allowed two months for public comment on the future of the West Taupo forests. Mr Fantl said that every New Zealander who cares about these forests should take the opportunity of writing to the Minister. "We are deeply concerned about the turn of events at the recent Tauno forest seminar at which the Forest Service proposed the selective logging of manv of the remaining areas of virgin forest m the lowland parts of

the West Taupo ranges. This is in conflict with the recommendations of the Wildlife

Service,” Mr Fantl said. In the north. Pureora State Forest supports the largest remaining block of kokako habitat and offered the best chance for the bird’s long term survival. In the south, the Waihaha Forest supports exceptional concentrations of native parrots and parakeets. The main block of denser podocarp forest in the region had been recommended for a reserve by the Scientific Co-ordinating Committee, but this forest is now to be logged. under the Forest Sendee proposals. The key issues in the conservationists campaign are whether the virgin podocarp forest remnants in the central North Island are already too small, and whether they should be further reduced by selection logging. The Wildlife Service has stated that a "biosphere reserve” should be established in the central North Island, as part of an inter-

national programme to protect examples of the world’s most outstanding natural forests and wildlife communities. The volcanic plateau already has large areas of cutover native forest, and exotic pine plantations, but the total area of the scattered remnants of virgin podocarp forest is now only 55,000 hectares, less than the area of Lake Taupo. “Surely we can leave this much of our outstanding virgin forest to safeguard the habitat of rare birds and to inspire future generations of New Zealanders,” Mr Fantl said. The Native Forests Action Council also believes that native log production must decline faster than the Forest Service envisages. The council’s executive officer, Mr David Haig, responding to a statement made bv the Director-Gen-eral of Forests, (Mr M. Con-

way) has said that if worthwhile reserves of virgin native forests are to be secured in the North Island, native log production will have to decline more rapidly than Mr Conway envisages.

“The Forests Service’s proposal to continue logging in the West Taupo forests for another 40 years would make it impossible to secure the reserves sought by the Wildlife Service. There is no need to prolong native logging in the North Island since adequate supplies of specialty timber can be provided from the West Coast. Far too much of this timber is being wastefully used at present,” said Mr Haig.

He said that the area of native podocarp forest in the North Island had shrunk dramatically since World War 11. “In the West Tauno region, 83 per cent of the podocarp forest tract has been logged since 1940. It is now time for this to stop.”