default-output-block.skip-main
National | Coromandel

Sixth kauri dieback site found on Coromandel Peninsula

A sixth kauri dieback site in the Waikato region has been found on the Coromandel Peninsula.

The disease that kills mighty kauri trees has been found in a forest on a private property at Tairua, Waikato Regional Council confirmed.

It had already been confirmed at five locations in Hukarahi near Whitianga and in the Whangapoua Forest.

Manager Patrick Whaley says regional council staff are working with the landowner to prevent the spread of the disease.

"Unfortunately, there's no known cure for kauri dieback but we can stop it from infecting other kauri by limiting soil movement.  That means fencing kauri from stock, keeping people out of the bush, killing feral animals and having good machinery cleaning practices," he says.

Kauri dieback disease starves the tree to death and its symptoms include a yellowing and thinning canopy.

The most recent, serious case of kauri dieback in Aotearoa has been at the Waitākere Ranges, where the majority of tracks were closed to the public earlier this year to stop the spread of the disease.

Whaley says the council is working closely with Kauri Dieback Programme partners, the Department of Conservation and the Ministry for Primary Industries to develop an action plan for the new infection area in Tairua.

As an initial response, the Department of Conservation has closed nearby tracks on public conservation land at Lynch Stream and Twin Kauri Tracks.