Kauri dieback fears sees closure of Bay of Islands walking trails

The Department of Conservation has announced that 10 tracks in the Bay of Islands will close permanently in an effort to stop the spread of kauri dieback disease.

DOC announced last week that the walking and tramping tracks were largely classified as advanced, for experienced trampers, spread across three forests, would be closed.

DOC's acting Bay of Islands Operations Manager, Martin Akroyd said the decision was made to close the high-risk tracks to protect the local kauri and stop the disease from spreading.

He said the decision had been made after consultation with Treaty of Waitangi partners and consideration had been given to maintaining recreation opportunities "wherever possible".

Akroyd told New Zealand website Stuff "there are still plenty of alternative walks and tramps in the Bay of Islands district including access to alternative sections of the Te Araroa Trail.

"We urge the public to respect the closures and no longer access these tracks, otherwise they'll be putting our kauri at great risk."

Tests at New Zealand's most sacred tree, Tāne Mahuta, found no signs of the disease near the giant kauri tree in November 2018.

Kauri dieback is a disease caused by a microscopic fungus-like organism, called Phytophthora agathidicida.

It spreads microscopic spores through soil which attach themselves onto kauri roots and leach nutrients from the trees so they starve to death. There is no known cure for dieback and it can kill kauri of all ages.

Image: The Puketi Kauri Forest on the Bay of Islands.