Iwi key to future of Mt Eden

Now that the cows are gone from Mt Eden for good, Auckland City Council will be moving to protect remaining Maori archaeological features.

And it'll be drawing on the passion of volunteers and iwi to achieve that, council manager Rachel Eaton said.

After more than 40 years of cattle on Maungawhau/Mt Eden and intense lobbying by interest groups, the council has decided this year that when the beasts moved elsewhere for winter in May they wouldn't be coming back.

Ms Eaton said protecting features such as complex earthworks, terraces and ditches developed over hundreds of years by tangata whenua was at the heart of a new management plan.

"It's a key iconic piece of open space for all Aucklanders and New Zealanders. [The plan] looks at how we can manage the archaeological, ecological and heritage values by managing the vegetation on the mountain."

The long-term plan calls for getting rid of foreign pasture grasses, including fescue, rye and thistle, and pest plants such as woolly nightshade, and replacing them with native groundcovers which don't grow to lengths that call for mowing.

However, in the short term a mowing programme would have to be undertaken. While scoping work hadn't been done yet on the total cost of maintaining the mountain, it could cost between $200,000 and $250,000, Ms Eaton said.

Groups such as Friends of Maungawhau and Ngati Whatua o Orakei were key stakeholders in the mountain's future, she said.

"One of the first things we'll be doing is looking at how we can manage pest weeds. We'll be working closely with voluntary and community groups. There's a lot of passion there and it does enable us to tap into that energy and enthusiasm."

Ngati Whatua o Orakei's heritage manager, Ngarimu Blair, said seeing the "cheap lawn mowers" finally off the mountain was a move the tribe whole-heartedly supported.

"It couldn't come soon enough for us. The cows have been trampling over the layers of our heritage for too long."

Their Treaty of Waitangi Settlement, which has been in limbo since 2006, calls for co-management between the council and Ngati Whatua.