A former Department of Conservation ranger says plans to remove 55 backcountry huts in Te Urewera is “a shocking abuse of departmental power”.
“What we’re witnessing is the biggest case of backcountry vandalism ever committed in New Zealand being promulgated by the government department charged with the role of preserving those same structures, without consultation,” conservationist Pete Shaw told the Beacon.
[…] The annual plan, which is available to view on the Tuhoe authority’s website, states its intentions to “remove the western influences and their imprint within Te Urewera”
[…] “They want to get all of them gone by Christmas,” Shaw said. “The whole lot. The reason for that is they are expecting a reaction and they want to get them out before anyone can put a halt to the process. The fact that they’ve already started has been kept really quiet.
RNZ
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