Waitakere ranges closure a ‘devastating blow’ to recreation

The New Zealand Recreation Association has expressed sadness at the Auckland Council decision to close the entire forested area of the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park and major tracks in the Hunua Ranges.

Auckland Council voted earlier this week to close the areas to the public by 1st May as a result of the burgeoning threat of kauri dieback disease.

This includes forests in the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park and high-risk tracks in the Hunua Ranges Regional Park.

While the Hunua Ranges are not suffering from kauri dieback, use of the tracks has been discontinued to prevent it spreading further.

The recommended actions for the Council's Environment and Community Committee are subject to consultation with local boards and iwi.

The spread of kauri dieback has more than doubled in the past five years, with 19% of kauri now infected. The disease eats into the roots of the tree, stripping the canopy and causing bark to waste away.

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff says it is important that the council errs on the side of caution in protecting kauri, which is indigenous to New Zealand, advising "I think this option allows us, by May when we make the final decision here, to say forested areas are closed, other than for the areas where science and empirical facts show it is safe to go.

"We're not keeping (people) out of it for the sake of it - we're keeping them out because that is what is necessary to preserve what they are going there to see.

The Council's proposed changes come after a rāhui was imposed on the ranges in November 2017, to stop foot traffic in hopes of minimising the spread of kauri dieback.

Commenting on the closures, New Zealand Recreation Association Chief Executive Andrew Leslie stated “environmentally and in terms of saving our beloved Kauri, it is the right decision, but there are vast consequences.

“This is the biggest public access issue New Zealand has ever faced and it represents a huge loss of recreational opportunities for our largest city.”

With walking, tramping, mountain biking, trail-running and hunting among the nation’s most popular forms of active recreation, the Waitakere Ranges receive two million visits per year

Leslie added “closing the Waitakere and Hunua ranges will effect a huge proportion of the population. Consequently, the numerous health and wellbeing benefits of all that recreation will be lost and there will be a large impact on commercial recreation providers who make their livelihood there and the outdoor education that occurs in that area.

“Our attention and efforts must now turn to two matters. Firstly, a funded strategy must be developed to replace the loss of recreational opportunities with alternatives. For the sake of their health and wellbeing, Aucklanders must have adequate access to outdoor spaces. Secondly, there needs to be a whole-of-government effort to develop a method of saving the Kauri without excluding humans from Kauri forests. That will require significant investment.

“In the long term, exclusion and track closures are not the solution. We have concerns that closures will continue to be ignored or violated, which means that we could potentially fail to save the Kauri and lose this recreation opportunity. Recreation can be part of the solution as it enables people to engage with and enjoy nature. By educating participants and preserving opportunities to recreate we can ensure that people feel a personal responsibility for our environment.”

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