Exotics Versus Natural Wealth

Forest and Bird, Issue 139, 1 February 1961, Page 15

Exotics Versus Natural Wealth

The following appeared, under the above heading, as the second leader in the Wellington Dominion of 14th January, and is published here by courtesy of the Editor of that newspaper : — The Minister of Forests, Mr. Gerard, has acted with commendable promptitude in cancelling a project to cut out a gorge of bush off the Napier-Taupo Road, inhabited by kiwis, which his department proposed to develop as a pine forest. His action followed protests from the Hawke’s Bay section of the Forest and Bird Society and local residents. The Minister says the Forest Service did not know of the kiwis’ existence. There is a great deal of native bush and it may be a long job to map every part of it for wild life, but the best efforts to do so are expected.

The kiwi is a rare and highly interestingbird in a large measure it is one of our national symbols. Dr. D. A. Bathgate, president of the local society, points out that in addition to its sentimental value, a kiwi is worth hundreds of pounds to overseas zoos. Yet the Forest Service was prepared to sell the tree manukas for firewood, burn off the area, and plant pinus radiata. In the process a number of kiwis might have been killed, and a natural habitat would have been destroyed. As Dr. Bathgate says, there are many other places where exotics could be planted without doing harm. What does the Wild Life Division of Internal Affairs think of it? One presumes there is cooperation between the departments.

This question cuts deep. It reminds us that eternal vigilance is the price of preservation of bird and plant life, to say nothing of the soil. The Forest and Bird Society is always active in these matters, large, as in the future of lakes and rivers, and relatively small. It has not had the success it deserves, but this response of the Minister is a good omen. It encourages one to believe that the Minister and his colleagues will implement the proposal to establish a national conservation authority. This latest development illustrates the value of the individual enthusiast, the man or woman who may be roughly called the amateur. He or

she can observe with special knowledge, report, and, if necessary, protest. There are persons in Hawke’s Bay who could have informed the Forest Service of the existence of that kiwi colony. The amateur has already served our outdoor sciences very well from the early days. The more this type can be recruited now, the better will be the prospects of well informed conservation