The working group in the field, discussing hygiene and road construction options for the kauri tree in the background.
On October 12 and 13, Summit’s Northland office hosted a two-day workshop on kauri dieback in a quest to get some practical guidelines that can be used industry-wide.
Representatives from the Forest Owners Association (FOA), Te Uru Rakau (TUR), Northland Regional Council (NRC), Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI), and other stakeholders used the workshop to review the best practice guidelines for Plantation Forestry Operations For Kauri Protection. Native kauri are being threatened by the pathogen Phytophthora agathidicida (PA for short) which causes disease and kills the native kauri trees of New Zealand. Under the new Biosecurity (National PA Pest Management Plan) Order 2022 legislation, forestry is required to have an earthworks management plan for managing the spread of kauri dieback.
The first day was spent in the field looking at examples of forest roads constructed near kauri trees and assessing options for a road needing an upgrade that will need to be managed in line with the new guidelines. It was good to be able to show people who aren’t in forestry how road construction is managed and to come up with practical solutions for managing the spread of kauri dieback.
Day two was spent in the office going through the detail. There was some good constructive discussion and hopefully we have some outcomes for a simple earthworks management template that can be used by our industry.