Forest reserves

Press, 18 June 1979, Page 16

Forest reserves

Sir, —Many people rave about the beauty of southern Okarito and the view from the trig. I recently spent several days there and could also rave about the place. Now that a rare kiwi species has been found there, we hear that southern Okarito may be saved, and possibly Waikukupa given the chop instead. Why is this? While people rave about southern Okarito, there is less public interest in Waikukupa. Possibly the Forest Service thinks that by logging Waikukupa instead of southern Okarito, public stirrings will be kept to a minimum. Finding a rare kiwi provides a good excuse for this southern Okarito-Waikukupa exchange. There are many reasons to leave Waikukupa unlogged. I understand that it is possible to keep Ruatapu open without logging either southern Okarito or Waikukupa, and I hope this possibility will ge given serious consideration. — Yours, SALLY WHITNEY. Nelson. June 14, 1979.

Sir, —So southern Okarito has been saved from destruction by logging through the last-minute discovery of a rare species of kiwi. The Minister of Forests is to be applauded for his recognition of the value of preserving rare and endangered species. Now, having regard to the same criteria, plans to log the lowland forest west of the Paparoa Range should be immediately suspended. So many aspects of this region have the feature of rarity or uniqueness—the particular associations of plant species, the diversity and numbers of native birds, the karst landscape, the Nile Valley caves—that it should be recognised as a biological “treasure house,” and preserved intact from all logging.—Yours, etc., JOHN CAYGILL, June 15, 1979.

Sir, — Congratulations to the Minister of Forests for stopping proposed logging in south Okarito. Congratulations also to the Native Forests Action Council for opposing the logging and demanding Okarito’s protection as a national park. All along they showed where alternative sawmill timber supplies existed and only now is the Minister going to look at these. Blame for the proposed logging falls squarely on the Forest Service. It proposed logging before wildlife surveys were completed. Because the Forest Service has lost Okarito it must not be allowed to grab back the beautiful lowland wilderness of the Waikukupa Forest. It contains a mere six months timber supply for the region. The Westland National Park Board, the National Parks Authority, Lands and Survey and Forests departments, the Government officials committee, and Mr Young himself all have recommended its protection. All of Waikukupa Forest must stand alongside southern Okarito as the lowland component of beautiful Westland National Park. — Yours, etc., JAMES JEFFRIES. June 14, 1979.

Sir, — The Okarito kiwi discovery casts major doubts on the Forest Service’s logging operations elsewhere in New Zealand’s native forests. In Pureora, the rare kokako was so clearly endangered by the senseless logging of its dense rainforest home, yet, despite protests, logging continued almost to the bitter end, Now Whirinaki, our last great North Island rain forest, is being logged without any wildlife surveys. Ironically Whirinaki is only 12 miles from mighty Kaingaroa’s pines. The western Paparoa lowland forests contain the South Island’s high-

est densities of forest birds. Kiwis, robins, kakas. parakeets, tuis and bellbirds are all abundant. The Forest Service zones much of the area “sawlog supply.” Logging will begin later this year. Certainly, keep the sawmills going with the alternative timber supplies we know exist. But we implore the Minister of Forests to step in now and save Whirinaki and the Paparoas just as he has nearly saved southern Okarito and Waikukupa. — Yours, etc., G. D. McSWEENEY, Chairman, Native Forests Action Council, Christchurch branch. June 15, 1979.

Sir, — I hope that the discovery (“The Press,” June 13) of a rare South Island brown kiwi in southern Okarito will not be used by the Minister of Forests as an excuse to continue to apply the same narrow logic which says that timber for the Ruatapu mill must either come from Waikukupa or southern Okarito. Would the Minister or the Forest Service please acknowledge that timber from alternative sources is available, e.g., seed trees at Three Mile Hill, and that, therefore it is practicable to include both southern Okarito and Waikukupa in Westland National Park. — Yours, etc., M. P. RYAN, D. J. SAVILLE, June 13, 1979.