Kauri dieback timeline

Fifteen years’ research of Phytophthora agathidicida (PA) and three kauri health surveys of the Waitākere Ranges Regional Park has not justified what’s taken place in this, Auckland’s most popular Regional Park.

• Waitākere Kauri Dieback survey in 2017 suggested that track users were to blame for wide spread of kauri dieback though the Ranges. This survey was not peer-reviewed, nor did it have random sampling, therefore it is inappropriate to draw any scientific conclusions about associations between track locations and kauri dieback.

• Auckland Council (AC) then placed a trespass notice on the Waitākere Ranges Regional Park under their Public Safety and Nuisance Bylaw 2013.

• The Park was closed to public access on 1 May 2018, following a rāhui called by Te Kawerau ā Maki closing all forested areas to public.

• The Park’s tracks began to be developed to an extraordinary standard, due to an agreement signed between Auckland Council and Te Kawerau ā Maki (2018) that requires any tracks in forested areas (including those with no kauri, and exotic forests) within the Waitākere Ranges to be upgraded to a ‘dry foot’ standard. No natural surface tracks have been reopened since.

• Nine tracks were permanently closed

• In 2022, AC published a peer-reviewed report titled Waitākere Ranges kauri population health monitoring survey. In this report, no conclusive evidence was found of an association between where the tracks are, and sick kauri or PA. Found that only 23% of trees with dieback symptoms actually were infected with PA, and PA is isolated to certain areas around the North, West and South of the park. Therefore this painted a much different picture than the 2017 report.

• Regardless of the new, more rigorous scientific findings, NO CHANGE has been made to Auckland Council’s approach to track reopening standards.