Te Urewera Forest; North Island, New Zealand

            This temperate deciduous forest is located on the North Island of New Zealand.  It has been established a national park by the Department of Conservation in New Zealand.  The park is located on a base of sandstone, slitstone, and mudstone, which used to make up the sea floor.  However, the sea floor was raised to create the ground in the park.  Two lakes exist in the park.  The larger one formed from a huge landslide 2200 years ago, blocking a narrow gorge next to the river.  The water from the river backed up, creating Lake Waikaremoana.  The mountains surrounding the lakes are constantly covered in a thick mist.  The original people of Te Urewera, the Tuhoe, were dubbed “Children of the Mist”, for this reason.  The mountains and surrounding areas are covered with prehistoric beech and podocarp trees.  Trees cover the majoirty of the park. With 650 different species making up the vegetation, there is much variety.  Fire, volcanic action, and storms have all made impacts on the landscape, creating ridges throughout the mountain range.  In the southern end of the park, beech trees make up the majority.  In the north, it is mainly tawa and rimu trees.

            A popular non-native plant is the buddleia shrub.  It covers the forest floor easily, growing into old streambeds and new surfaces.  It plays a major role in the ecosystem because of its ability to do this.  The shrub is originally from Asia and was brought to New Zealand as a non-native species. 

           As stated before, the original people of Te Urewera are the Tuhoe.  They are currently in a battle with the New Zealand Crown for rights of the land.  However, they have been given most of the ownership rights.  In the past, they have always inhabited the land.  The Tuhoe have not had large negative impacts on the Earth in this specific area.  They use the land for their needs only.  In the past, they have taken shelter in clearings of forest and river valleys.  There was not much rich farming land so they depended on the forest for food, clothing, and shelter.  However, they used the forest in a sustainable way, only using trees when they needed to and using all parts of the tree when chopped down.

            Other human impacts are mostly positive.  The area has been established a national park by New Zealand so it is largely protected.  There are many restrictions of human activity in the area.  Hunting, hiking, and camping in tents and established huts are all permitted activities.  In fact, hunting is encouraged to kill off some of the non-native species that were introduced.  These include deer, pigs, and possum.  However, a permit granted by the Department of Conservation is required to hunt.  Camping is only allowed in established campgrounds and already-built huts.  Hiking is permitted only on constructed trails.  Therefore, even though all these activities are acceptable, they are restricted and not up to interpretation.  The park is also not easily accessible to the public.  For all these reasons, the conservation status of the area is very positive.  Obviously, it is not possible for conservation for all zones of the Earth to be this noble since other parts are much more populated.  However, for a tourist attraction, it is very respectable and can be looked upon as a model.

            Although the current situation is positive, it is also important to predict the future of the area to forecast any potential problems.  In the future, Te Urewera will most likely be taken permanently from the Tuhoe.  This can be predicted since their rights to the land have been slowly decreased over time.  However, the ecosystem will most likely remain a national park.  This is positive since it will remain protected and safeguarded under the Department of Conservancy.

            In the future, I think that the current protection should be maintained.  The Deparment of Conservancy is achieving high conservation of the ecosystem.  It is important to keep the sacred ecosystem preserved, rich with trees and rare species of birds, including the largest species of kokako bird left in New Zealand.  The United States National Park Service sustains land for the “use of future of generations”.  This is a prime reason to conserve land and can be applied in the same way to Te Urewera.  I have heard many rich stories of adventure in New Zealand.  Movies such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy utilize the beautiful landscape in New Zealad. All of these reasons contribute to the need of continued protection of Te Urewera.

Positive Human Impacts	Negative Human Impacts
Establishing a national park	Introducing non-native animals
Hunting the non-native animals	Introducing non-native plants
Using only what is necessary
Tuhoe people living off the forest in a sustainable way
Limiting recreational activity in the park

no number data available online

Sources:

http://www.jasons.co.nz/rotorua/te-urewera-treks (waterfall image)

http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Lake-Waikaremoana-Te-Urewera-National-Park-Bay-of-Plenty-North-Island-New-Zealand-Pacific-Posters_i8738840_.htm (lake image)

http://www.explore-new-zealand.com/new-zealand-national-parks.html (map image)

http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/ngai-tuhoen (info about the Tuhoe tribe)

http://www.newzealandecology.org/nzje/free_issues/NZJEcol14_1.pdf (academic journal about the buddleia shrub)

http://www.doc.govt.nz/ (New Zealand Department of Conversation info about the national park)