tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2699436745323436303.post5454140313371368715..comments2023-04-01T22:26:20.745+13:00Comments on Musings from Aotearoa: Heart BreakRuahineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09398484733805119294noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2699436745323436303.post-51041419735997001932013-11-21T13:41:21.821+13:002013-11-21T13:41:21.821+13:00It's bad eh Rob? I know you are in love with ...It's bad eh Rob? I know you are in love with the wilds, the earth. so feel for you. <br /><br />hope you continue on your outings and never ever stop.<br /><br />http://vimeo.com/64726512Ojibwe Confessionshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10434882024674242926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2699436745323436303.post-4113323295760284262013-11-06T18:49:52.297+13:002013-11-06T18:49:52.297+13:00Here's some more to be annoyed about on the po...Here's some more to be annoyed about on the politicisation of this dam, sadly. http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/9366135/Adams-ignores-EPA-advice-over-water-inquiry-headMikeMhttp://www.windy.gen.nz/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2699436745323436303.post-75469374259129907642013-11-04T03:35:44.575+13:002013-11-04T03:35:44.575+13:00Money. Its all about money....:(Money. Its all about money....:(troutbirderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14087811292280881959noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2699436745323436303.post-5861174380017267842013-10-28T00:24:21.438+13:002013-10-28T00:24:21.438+13:00Hey Robb I I sympathize with you too mate I have b...Hey Robb I I sympathize with you too mate I have been dreading the day that this dam gets built I first saw it in a fish and game mag about 3 or 4 years ago. I don't know if it has the go ahead yet as the dam may lie on a fault line and it will raise silt levels below which will greatly increase flood risk. I have just come out of upper mak this weekend I too love this river I am connected to it also, there were so many trout in the river it was unbelievable this will be ruined as I want my kids to experience this magical place and the fishery and hunting it provides im really gutted which is why I went in there just incase I want to remember how good it was. Yours,<br />David Dodge Ruahine hunter gatherer.David Dodgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12395208608617113467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2699436745323436303.post-28091941937755739992013-10-19T15:27:36.324+13:002013-10-19T15:27:36.324+13:00Everytime any government makes a decision to flood...Everytime any government makes a decision to flood natural habitat is a tragedy. Hopefully this will be resolved in a positive manner.Barbara Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00610140328527165017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2699436745323436303.post-51658128820146287642013-10-18T15:11:08.601+13:002013-10-18T15:11:08.601+13:00Oh. To clarify, I don't want to excuse all the...Oh. To clarify, I don't want to excuse all the crap that's been going on as far as political interference with DOC's submission. That's really disturbing.<br /><br />I also didn't mean to suggest that access up the river is the only issue worth considering. Obviously the health and significance of the river itself, whether it's flooded inside the park or outside, is a big thing.MikeMhttp://www.windy.gen.nz/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2699436745323436303.post-42773956793375346172013-10-18T13:12:25.555+13:002013-10-18T13:12:25.555+13:00Hi Robb.
I'll leave it to you and others to c...Hi Robb.<br /><br />I'll leave it to you and others to comment on the merits of the scheme (for now), but I also noticed this report. What was stated in the report seemed to conflict with what's actually written in law, and I investigated it further.<br /><br />This doesn't make everything better, but in short the reporting is lazy, and therefore mis-leading as to what was actually recommended.<br /><br />Firstly, section 61(2) of the Conservation Act states very clearly that everything which was considered a Forest Park pre-1987 would automatically be considered a Conservation Park when the Conservation Act and DOC came into existence. Ruahine Forest Park therefore does not <i>need</i> to be gazetted. Every part of Ruahine Forest Park, which was legally a Forest Park during Forestry Service days before the Conservation Act came in, is protected.<br /><br />Land can only be swapped if it's Stewardship Land (basically DOC-managed land that's not specifically declared as anything else), and a full-on public consultation process would be required to demote part of a Conservation Park back down to Stewardship Land, in order for it to be swapped. It's also necessary during swaps for DOC to justify that it's getting a "net conservation gain", even though that's a politicised term.<br /><br />Secondly, the land in question is a small, isolated slice of land that's on the edge of the Makaroro but outside the boundaries of Ruahine Forest Park. It's about 1km long and a few hundred metres wide, left over from the old Yeoman's Mill site (so I'm told?) and largely full of weeds and gorse. This might or mightn't be exactly correct, however.<br /><br />DOC's internal report, and the quoted spokesperson, were stating that this parcel of land outside the park wasn't part of the actual park, so wouldn't require the public consultation that would otherwise be needed to reduce it to stewardship land prior to a potential swap, in the same way that would be required if it were inside park boundaries.<br /><br />Clearly the plan is still to flood that part of the Makaroro outside the park, which means it's not automatically okay for any number of reasons other than it being within the park or not. The parking area is some walking distance up the river from the park boundary, on the far side of this land, and so the dam will likely affect access for walking up the Makaroro. Last time I was at that entrance, Easter 2013, there were plenty of people around making use of that part of the river for hunting access, tramping access, fishing, and other things. I'm assuming there's some kind of plan to create an alternative access route for the park around the edge, but haven't checked and obviously there's still going to be mixed reaction to this.<br /><br />There are still heaps of issues with Stewardship Land generally. Mostly it's situations where DOC has never gotten around to assessing its actual value. One of the major problems with the Mokihinui River, on the flange of Kahurangi National Park, was that it had never been officially assessed for its actual value, even though it's generally thought to be high value. Consequently it became a legal possibility for that land to be simply swapped away without serious public consultation, pending all the additional value checks which are required (but sometimes politically influenced). In that sense, Ruahine Forest Park is actually more protected than the Mokihinui River, because RFP has actually been classified as a Conservation Park. (It merely happened before DOC came into existence!)MikeMhttp://www.windy.gen.nz/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2699436745323436303.post-18148016600740576262013-10-18T06:39:24.482+13:002013-10-18T06:39:24.482+13:00Robb -- My heart aches along with yours for the th...Robb -- My heart aches along with yours for the threatened loss of your Eden! Thanks for sharing your feelings. Jeffrey Williushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02748080134354732541noreply@blogger.com