Protesters going back to treetops of Pureora

By Philippa Stevenson

PUREORA - They perched, protested and saved Pureora Forest. Twenty-one years later they are going to do it again.

Barefoot forest ecologist Stephen King, who led the dramatic treetop sit-in to stop the logging of 1000-year-old totara trees in 1978, will return to his seat in the trees today.

Mr King, who was chairman of the Auckland branch of the Native Forest Action Council at the time of the protest, said the anniversary action was necessary to highlight the work needed to save Pureora.

The King Country forest contains the largest and oldest podocarp trees in the world and the widest range of rare forest birds on the New Zealand mainland.

The forest needed to expand or it would die, he said.

Public donations to the Native Forests Restoration Trust had enabled it to buy 800ha to add to the forest, and to plant around 50,000 trees.

But Government commitment was now needed for further work, he said.

"There has been too much time and too many words. It is now time for action."

In 1991, Mr King enlisted the enthusiastic support of former Prime Minister Jim Bolger for restoration projects.

Yesterday, he said that since Mr Bolger had left New Zealand to be the country's ambassador in Washington, "momentum and commitment to the project has waned among officials."

Protesters would call on Treasurer Bill Birch, Treaty Negotiations Minister Sir Douglas Graham and his Conservation counterpart, Nick Smith, to pull the project together before the end of the year.

The group of around 30, including many who staged the 1978 sit-in, would ask the Government to finalise Maori land claims, sell pine trees "growing on the ashes of Pureora" to finance the restoration project, buy land lying between the northern and southern forest regions, and join in project management with other community members in the Pureora Rainforest Trust.

Mr Bolger could take on the active role of trust founding patron on his return, Mr King said.

Restoration was likely to be a 30-year project but an immediate measure would be to build predator-proof fencing around 5000ha of forest at a cost of $10 million to $15 million.

Returns from the exotic trees could pay for the fence, which would be a better long-term option than continually killing pests, Mr King said.

The protest had been timed to coincide with the launch of the Department of Conservation's bio-diversity strategy.

"If the Government is serious about preserving New Zealand's natural biodiversity, Pureora is a key place to start."

Last night, Mr Birch said he was aware of the issues but a response should come from the department.