DoC rangers set up hidden CCTV after Mt Taranaki native bush illegally cleared

Department of Conservation staff want to speak to a man filmed on CCTV at a site in Mt Taranaki where native bush has been cleared.

Public help is wanted to find a man caught on CCTV camera after sections of native bush near Mt Taranaki were illegally cleared.

Conservation staff and police set up the camera as part of a bush sting after rangers became aware of a campsite and several sections of bush on the northwest part of the Egmont/ Te Papakura o Taranaki National Park.

Now they have released photos of a man at one of the clearings, seen peeking at the hidden camera, apparently hidden behind leaves.

“This man’s face is clearly shown in the CCTV image, and we’d like to speak to him about what’s happened here,” Department of Conservation senior ranger Cameron Hunt said.

“We believe someone knows who he is, and we’d welcome any information which helps us identify him.”

Hunt said whoever set up the campsite had gone to a lot of trouble.

That included carrying in 200L plastic water tanks, a 44-gallon steel drum, five car batteries, a small fridge, a gas cooker and even building a floor from ponga logs and plywood.

The clearings measured up to 10m by 10m, and a pile of rubbish was found at the campsite.

“This person is obviously pretty organised and quite committed to whatever they were doing,” Hunt said.

It is illegal to fell or remove trees, shrubs or plants on or from public conservation land under the Conservation Act.

Doing so can result in a fine of up $100,000 and two years in jail. If the offending continues, further fines of $10,000 a day can be imposed.

Anyone who can identify the man in the picture is asked to contact Hunt on 027 246 1083 or by emailing chunt@doc.govt.nz.

Plastic water tanks, steel drums and car batteries are among the goods carried into clearings hacked out of the native bush around Mt Taranaki.

An aerial view of a clearing made in native bush at Mt Taranaki.

Mt Taranaki is the centrepiece of Te Papakura o Taranaki Egmont National Park, New Zealand’s second-oldest national park (after Ruapehu).

With its classic cone shape and 2518m peak, Mt Taranaki lords it over the region.

Forming part of the legend of the central North Island mountains, it’s said Taranaki fled his ancestral home, broken-hearted, after losing the battle for beautiful Pihanga and his tears carved the Whanganui River.