Off-roaders ride roughshod over protected kiwi habitat

Off-road enthusiasts are riding roughshod over protected sites and endangering the West Coast kiwi and native giant land snail, conservation managers warn.

The Buller/Kawatiri Department of Conservation office has discovered a 500m road cut through protected forest reserve. Large trees were felled and tyre tracks indicated frequent use.

Kiwi beak holes on the road showed the birds lived nearby and the endangered Powelliphanta land snail also lives there.

The department said it has also discovered a website advertising parts of Buller where four-wheel drive enthusiasts could make their own tracks.

Officers want to regulate the use of four-wheel drive vehicles to prevent them from harming the animals and further damaging their natural habitat.

Community relations programme manager John Green said environmental damage from the increasingly popular vehicles had to be addressed.

Mr Green said they had caused extensive damage at Stockton, Seddonville, Millerton and Denniston, where rare vegetation survived.

He said most off-road enthusiasts were responsible drivers who stuck to authorised tracks and designated areas but a small minority of off-roaders were entering protected reserves in Buller with little regard for conservation.

"Doing this is an offence under the Conservation Act and they would be liable for prosecution," he said.

Destruction by powerful off-road machines in protected ecological areas presented a major concern, he said. However, Mr Green said DoC did not want to prohibit recreational driving from backcountry areas.

Mr Green said the activity would be acceptable if motorists stuck to the same track. Instead, they tended to carve out new roads and rip up more vegetation, as old tracks became worn. "The problem just gets bigger and bigger," he said.

The department believed the damage in Buller could be more widespread. "There's a lot of places that we haven't managed to get to yet," Mr Green said.

The department, together with Buller 4WD Club and Solid Energy, is trying to develop a set of guidelines for off-road motorists.

Mr Green said a code of practice from the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Services provided a valuable blueprint.

Information on track standards, features and map grid references are provided within the area, as well as guidelines to minimise environmental impact.

- NZPA