Bay of Islands walking tracks to close amid kauri dieback fears

Wednesday, 10 July 2019

Kauri dieback disease has been confirmed in a young tree just 60 metres from Tāne Mahuta, local iwi has confirmed to Stuff.

Ten tracks in the Bay of Islands will close permanently in an effort to stop the spread of kauri dieback disease.

The Department of Conservation announced on Tuesday the tracks, spread across three forests, would close permanently this week.

Seven tracks in the Puketi Forest would close, along with two in the Russell-Ngaiotonga Forest and one in the Omahuta Forest.

Seven tracks in Puketi Forest have closed permanently to stop the spread of kauri dieback disease (file photo).

The walking and tramping tracks were largely classified as advanced, for experienced trampers.

**READ MORE:

Permanent track closures (in blue) in the Bay of Islands are spread across three forests.

* Four Sisters walking track closed after kauri dieback discovered nearby

* Waitākere Ranges re-opening plan shows conflict between recreation and kauri protection

The immediate vicinity to Tāne Mahuta was found clear of Phytophthora agathidicida, the pathogen that causes kauri dieback disease, in 2018.

* DOC closes 21 kauri tracks across the North Island**

Martin Akroyd, DOC's acting Bay of Islands operations manager, 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'.

'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,' Akroyd said.

'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.

Humans are the main culprit for spreading dieback with movement of contaminated soil spreading the disease.

PERMANENT TRACK CLOSURES

Puketi Forest:

- Mangahorehore Track

- Onekura Track

- Pukekohe Stream Track

- Upper Waipapa River Track

- Walnut Track

- Waihoanga Gorge Kauri Walk

- Takapau Track

Omahuta Forest:

- Omahuta Kauri Sanctuary Walk

Russell-Ngaiotonga Forest:

- Kauri Grove Walk

- Twin Bole Kauri Walk