A bid by environmentalists to get Government to protect the southern Coromandel's conservation land from mining has fallen flat — leaving "gutted" Protect Karangahake members reformulating their plan of action.
Currently conservation land North of SH25 Kopu-Hikuai is protected by Schedule 4, but land to its south on the Coromandel is not.
Nearly two years after a 4500-strong petition from conservation groups supported by Protect Karangahake, a Government select committee has decided not to extend Schedule 4 to the entire Coromandel Ecological Region south into Katikati and Te Aroha.
"We're really gutted and shocked by their decision and we're looking at what we do from now," says Protect Karangahake spokesperson Beccy Dove.
"It just feels like they've really let us down."