We’ve launched our latest appeal to purchase 434 hectares of important native forest in urgent need of protection and restoration.

Hutiwai borders the DOC owned Hutiwai and Mohakatino Conservation Areas and is part of the headwaters of the Rapanui and Mangahutiwai catchments in Tongaporutu, North Taranaki. It consists of areas of native bush and some recently felled pine plantation with huge restoration potential including many of the valley floor wetland areas. It’s a very special place that desperately needs our help and it’s home to an amazingly diverse range of wildlife.

The proposed Hutiwai Reserve, north-east of New Plymouth

Part of the property is designated as a Significant Natural Area (SNA) – this means it is nationally recognised as an area where rare or threatened plants or animals are found. However, in March of this year the government suspended Councils requirement to form new SNA’s under the National Policy Statement on Biodiversity. Although as an existing SNA this doesn’t directly affect Hutiwai it underlines how quickly legislation can change and the importance of securing protection through Trust ownership, enabling it to be restored and protected for all New Zealanders to enjoy for ever.

View from the proposed new reserve to Taranaki Mounga. Photo by Tania Niwa

Hutiwai is home to several rare and endangered species, including the much-loved North Island Brown Kiwi. The widespread clearing of forests in the past and the introduction of predators has decimated our kiwi population and places like Hutiwai, properly managed, are now essential to their survival. By purchasing Hutiwai we’ll restore the forest to create more habitat for kiwi and introduce predator control to keep them safe.

Yellow-crowned Parakeet are also present at Hutiwai. Like kiwis these birds were once common in New Zealand but populations rapidly declined due to habitat loss and the introduction of predator pests. Now rare and endangered, yellow-crowned parakeets are highly vulnerable to predators. With Hutiwai under Trust management we will be able to control predators and help these delightful birds thrive once again.

Logging tracks with native forest to the north. Photo by Tania Niwa

The forest at Hutiwai is special, dominated by Tawa and Kāmahi and interspersed with Beech. With the onset of climate change, it becomes even more important. This is because as temperatures rise, some species will be compelled to move from one area of suitable habitat to another; this is nigh on impossible for forest species to achieve when the intervening land is virtually treeless. For this reason ‘islands’ of habitat are especially vulnerable to climate change. Hutiwai contains semi-coastal and lowland forest and provides a link between the lowland forests of the DOC Conservation Area and the coastal forest of Kuwhatahi. The more we can link up these ‘islands’, the more resilient they and the wildlife they are home to will be.

The restoration of Hutiwai will also lead to many more native trees being planted and naturally self-seeding, which in turn helps to remove carbon dioxide from our atmosphere and reduce the effects of climate change. Despite great advances in science, trees are still the most effective way to remove excess carbon in our atmosphere – we just don’t have enough of them right now!

Valley floor wetland areas and hill slopes with restoration potential. Photo by Tania Niwa

As you know, property values in New Zealand are at an all-time high and we need to raise over $1.7 million to secure Hutiwai – just under $4,000 per hectare. For a small organisation like NFRT this is a huge amount of money to raise and we know it will take us some time. Fortunately, the current owners of Hutiwai have been very flexible and are prepared to give us time to raise the funds – however, the sooner we raise the funds the sooner we can gain access to protect the wildlife and start restoring the forest and wetland areas.

Please help protect this important piece of New Zealand’s natural heritage by making a donation today.

$199 could protect 500 square metres of this special place and allow it to regenerate naturally.

$995 could protect about 2,500 square metres of the most important habitat for the native wildlife that lives here.

However much you are able to give will help us protect and restore Hutiwai to its former glory. As a Trust reserve it will be safe for all its wildlife and all New Zealanders to enjoy for ever.

Thank you for your support to help protect and restore New Zealand’s native forests.