Kaimai Mamaku Wild Animal Control Operation Denied
Kaimai Mamaku Wild Animal Control Operation Application Declined
A controversial application by Lakeland
Helicopters, Rotorua to undertake wild animal control
operations in the Kaimai Mamaku Forest Park (KMFP) has today
been declined by Department of Conservation Acting Northern
Regional General Manager, Simon Kelton.
The concession application proposed wild animal control using helicopters for the shooting and retrieval of deer from the forest park.
The impact of deer on the Kaimai Range is reported as being most pronounced on the fragile high country where well formed deer tracks and localised severe browsing has been observed in recent years. The deer population in the KMFP is not monitored, although the numbers are generally considered to be very low in the northern Mamaku and Te Aroha areas, and medium in the central Kaimai Range.
To date the control of deer has been left to the recreational hunter, while the Department has focussed efforts on goat control.
More than 1400 public submissions were received following the notification of this proposed concession application, a vast majority of them (90%) against the proposal. A variety of reasons were given by submitters for their various positions on the proposed concession, including safety, noise, visual intrusion, the loss of remoteness, aesthetic and recreational values and the unsuitability of the land for commercial wild animal recovery.
In the report to the Regional General Manager it
was recommended that the Department decline the application
based on the following reasoning:
The complex
and narrow shape of the park and its unsuitability to
commercial wild animal recovery operations;
The
inability of the applicant to mitigate the effects on the
general recreational use of the park, the perceived safety
concerns by the public, or on aesthetic values, through
noise and perceived intrusion;
The
strength of public opinion in opposition to the
application.
Future action proposed by the Department
includes
consulting with the Bay of Plenty
Conservation Board in relation to the commercial use of
helicopters in the Kaimai-Mamaku Forest Park (not including
management or emergency purposes),
monitoring
the deer numbers in the Kaimai-Mamaku Forest Park in
conjunction with the current monitoring of
possums,
consulting with recreational hunting
groups to maximise their effectiveness,
preparing an integrated wild animal management plan for the
Kaimai-Mamaku Forest Park that is in accordance with
national plans, and
undertaking management
activities in the Kaimai-Mamaku Forest Park, using
helicopters where necessary.
The Department is required to
encourage recreation that is not inconsistent with the
primary objective of the protection of the natural resources
of the land that it administers.
This has been a
controversial application as the Park is used for a wide
variety of recreational activities, including recreational
hunting. The recreational use for hunting, and the quality
of experience, must be weighed against the need to ensure
the maintenance and enhancement of the forest in the long
term.
ends
For further information please contact
Andrew Baucke, Area Manager Tauranga Area Office, Department
of Conservation ph (07) 578
7677