Harvard fails in bid to control forest roads

By PAM GRAHAM

Harvard University's endowment fund has lost a bid to control roads in its forests when Crown land returns to Maori ownership.

About 2500 trucks a week travel the private road network through the American university's giant central North Island forests.

Harvard sought a declaratory judgment from the High Court to guarantee access and that no fee would be charged when dozens of tribal owners replaced the Crown land owner.

"We got a no," said Kaingaroa Timberland New Zealand chief Phil Langston.

He said that Kaingaroa Timberland, Harvard's forest manager, was considering its options, one of which was to appeal.

Paul Quinn, spokesman for Ngati Awa, the first tribe to negotiate a land settlement in the area, has said future access between licence areas has to be negotiated because it was not dealt with when the licences were created.

Ngati Awa is getting about 7000ha at the north end entrance point to Kaingaroa in a settlement due to be enacted by Parliament next year.

The settlement deed requires it to provide access to other Kaingaroa landowners on reasonable terms.