Kauri dieback: 11 Waitākere Ranges tracks to open this summer

Thursday, 2 January 2020

Park rangers and contractors are working to reopen the Kitekite track in the wake of the kauri dieback track closures (video first published December 2018).

Eleven more walking tracks will open in the Waitākere Ranges this summer after many were closed due to kauri dieback disease.

Stu Leighton, a ranger with Auckland Council for more than 23 years, admitted there wasn't a lot the council knew about the spread of the disease.

However, it was doing the best it could with the science and research at hand, he said.

A rāhui was placed over the ranges by West Auckland iwi Te Kawerau-ā-Maki in 2018 after the disease was first identified on Piha track Mangaroa Ridge.

Auckland Council senior park ranger Stu Leighton says the council is working hard to reopen more tracks in the ranges.

* More Auckland tracks and parks closed due to threat of kauri dieback disease

With many of Auckland's kauri forests closed to visitors, Stuff takes a look at how rangers are upgrading forest walking tracks to protect our kauri trees.

* First major Waitākere Ranges kauri track due to reopen

* Slow progress on upgrading tracks as fight against kauri dieback continues**

Of the 145 tracks in the ranges, only about 30 remained open. New tracks were slowly being built.

Last summer, the council opened seven tracks in the region, six of which were in the ranges.

Kauri dieback disease on the Maungaroa Ridge Track in Piha (file image).

This summer, Leighton said rangers were working on opening 11 more.

'As we know more about the science, we will adapt on how we manage things,' Leighton said.

A rāhui was placed over the Waitākere Ranges in 2018 after kauri dieback disease was discovered in the forest.

Auckland Council's Information Communication and Technology team is helping West Auckland rangers in the battle to stop the spread of kauri dieback by developing new, cheap, effective monitoring technology.

Anything that moved soil – including people and wild pigs – had the potential to spread the disease.

A survey was conducted in 2016 in the ranges and until it was repeated next year, authorities wouldn't know the true extent of the disease in the forest or the state of kauri health, he said.

'It really is a hard thing to measure because there is a few factors – one is, the disease can sit latent in the soil which means it's there but it's not expressing symptoms.

'Science hasn't given us understanding yet of how long that latency can be there.'

The closure of the forest was a precautionary approach authorities took while they waited on science and research to tell them more about the disease, he said.

There was a lot of research underway exploring several ways to combat the disease, including natural resistance in the population and the effectiveness of kanuka oil and phosphate treatments.

'One of the tricky things is that good robust science takes time … but there is still going to be a delay before we start getting those answers.'

The closure of tracks in the Waitākere Ranges was a big change for many people, Leighton said.

'We're dealing with people who are genuinely grieving over the loss of their favourite track or experience and that's why we're trying to get on with doing the work as fast as we can.

'But also, there should be an understanding that there are limitations on how we can do it and how we can build tracks that didn't exist 10 years ago.'

He advised people to make use of the open tracks this summer and stay away from the closed ones.

Surveillance cameras, council compliance officers, staff and ambassadors would be out monitoring movement and making sure people enjoy the open tracks safely.

'We always have problems wih rubbish, most people are really good. One of the big issues is people having dogs off leash, even before kauri [dieback] dogs aren't allowed off lead but with the disease, its become more important.'

TRACKS BEING WORKED ON

Waitākere Ranges: Omanawanui, Spragg Bush, Donald McClean Track and White Track, Jubilee and McElwain, Karamatura Track, Karamatura Loop, Puriri Ridge, Cutty Grass, Whatatiri Track, Winstone Tk, Ahuahu.

Hunua Rangers: Massey Track, Wairoa Southern Loop, Waharau Loop Track, Glenfern Sanctuary.

Northern region: Tawharanui Ecology Trail.