End of logging in Whirinaki

Press, 24 May 1985, Page 1

End of logging in Whirinaki

By

OLIVER RIDDELL

in Wellington Logging of native forest at Whirinaki in eastern Bay of Plenty has been stopped by the Government, so ending a controversy that has raged for 10 years. The Minister of Forests, Mr Wetere, said logging would cease permanently, in line with the Government’s election policy to stop logging as soon as practicable. This was the central decision in a series made by the Government on Whirinaki. Mr Wetere said no conventional logging had been done in Whirinaki State Forest since before Christmas last year. Most of the log supply for the Minginui sawmill at Whirinaki, since the 1982 Easter storm, had

come from salvaging trees blown over in the storm. No native trees would be felled in Whirinaki except dead, standing totara for specific Maori cultural purposes, Mr Wetere said. Conventional logging machinery and tractors would not be used in Whirinaki to remove trees that had fallen from natural causes. No more reading would ' be done in those parts of Whirinaki that were predominantly indigenous, he said, and all virgin highdensity softwood forest areas would be put into ecological reserves. Log supplies to Minginui Sawmills, Ltd, would be replaced by an equivalent volume of exotic timber

after the required period of notification had elapsed.

As well, Mr Wetere said, the Forest Service would continue its native planting programme to enrich the forest. This would be extended to take in skid tracks and logging roads and clearings.

Continuing salvage of naturally fallen native trees would be permitted under four circumstances: approval of the forest park advisory committee; from roads when trees have fallen across them; from appropriate zones in the north block that had been logged heavily or otherwise modified; and provided lowimpact harvest techniques such as bush milling and helicopter extraction were used.

The Whirinaki park management plan would be revised to incorporate the Government’s decisions, he said. Consideration would also be given to redefining the boundary between Kaingaroa and Whirinaki forests with a view to incorporating the exotic areas of Whirinaki into Kaingaroa, and the indigenous areas of Kaingaroa into Whirinaki.

Mr Wetere has also announced an advisory committee for Whirinaki Forest Park. It will hold its first meeting at Minginui on June 8.

Further report, page 3.