Agencies fighting a deadly tree disease that is spreading among native kauri have received a $4.7 million cash injection, part of which will be used to implore summer holiday-makers not to spread infected soil.
The Government has pledged the money for a five-year programme to fight kauri dieback - dubbed
the Didymo of the Forest by the Green Party - including researching how to spot it, how it spreads and how it can be treated.
Some of the money will help pay for publicity reminding people not to spread the soil-borne disease by carrying soil from one forest to another on tramping holidays.
The Waitakere Ranges Protection Society said the money could not come too soon for kauri in the Waitakere Ranges, which were suffering badly from the rapid spread of the disease.
The disease, which is new to science, can kill kauri and seedlings of all ages.
Some of the tell-tales signs are yellowing leaves, thinning branches and bleeding gum.
"We can't say it strongly enough, but if you want to save our kauri, then stay away from them," said protection society president John Edgar.
"If you do walk in the bush, then scrub and disinfect your boots and equipment and keep to the tracks."
In July the Auckland Regional Council began diverting highly used walking tracks around kauri stands in an attempt to prevent the spread of dieback disease.
Areas such as the Coromandel Ranges have been spared so far and the council urged people moving between forests to take precautions to keep them disease-free.
