Waiotukapiti Hut has historic status and is a rare totara-slab hut built in the 1950s as a base for deer cullers. Photo: Supplied / Pete Shaw
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.
Shaw said one of the huts had already been removed, and he had been told by a source from within Tūhoe authority Te Uru Taumatua that it plans to have the rest removed by the end of 2022.
He said Te Uru Taumatua stated in its annual plan that it wanted to get rid of the huts.
The annual plan, which is available to view on the Tūhoe authority's website, states its intentions to "remove the western influences and their imprint within Te Urewera" and "establish a decommissioning of DOC structures and infrastructure programme. This includes a prioritisation of replacement".
No mention is made of the timeframe for this work.
"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. They've taken one hut out already, Kanohirua, and the plan is to keep going.
"[Conservation Minister Poto Williams] has definitely signed off on the plans to pull the huts out, which is just incredible. Everyone I speak to, including Tūhoe people, they're just saying, 'what's going on here?'."
On Monday, he sent an open letter to Williams. He said that in doing so he had the full support of two Tūhoe kaumatua, who he did not wish to name.
Minister hears of iwi's vision for Te Urewera
The Beacon contacted Williams to confirm she had agreed to the removal of the huts. Her response did not provide any specific information about when the work would take place, saying DoC would answer those questions.
"Several weeks ago, I met Tūhoe and heard first-hand about the iwi's vision for Te Urewera. Te Urewera Board's focus is on achieving the first purpose of Te Urewera Act, which is to strengthen the connection between Tūhoe and Te Urewera," she said.
"The new approach will lead to a richer, uniquely Te Urewera experience for manuhiri, while protecting the unique biodiversity of the land and all the rights of the public under the act."
Poto Williams is supportive of both Tūhoe and DOC plans for the huts. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
Shaw expressed his disbelief with this response.
"How can you enhance an experience by destroying heritage?" he asked. He said the board did not intend to replace all of the huts.
"They might build two or three of these centres somewhere, but they won't have the spread of these huts. These huts currently provide really good access right across Te Urewera for hunters and anglers and trampers and whoever wants to go there.
"They are going to rip them all out and build two or three centres where they want, which may not be where the park users want to go.
"What they're doing is they are taking out the access. Anyone that uses Te Urewera, if they're overnighting, 90 percent of them will be staying in the huts. If you take out the huts, you're taking out access for the users of Te Urewera. It's deliberate because they want to exclude anyone who is not Tūhoe."
Director General of Conservation Penny Nelson told Local Democracy Reporting DOC was "aware of and fully supports, Te Urewera Board and Te Uru Taumatua's intention to replace end-of-life backcountry huts with purpose-built facilities".
"Along with overnight shelter, new huts will be suitable for a range of activities - for example, serving as a base for Tūhoe kaimahi doing pest control and other tasks away from more accessible areas," she said.
"The intention is that new structures will increase, rather than limit, the accessibility of these back-country areas for locals and manuhiri, which DOC sees as an exciting part of the board's vision for Te Urewera."
Nelson said many of the backcountry huts in Te Urewera were at, or beyond, their end of life.
"As the legal owners, DoC inspects these assets and has legal responsibilities for issues including health and safety. At the direction of Te Urewera Board, Te Uru Taumatua kaimahi, in consultation with DOC, have decommissioned one backcountry hut (around one hour's walk from Rūatāhuna) that was at the end of its life.
"This was a useful exercise in looking at safe decommissioning and disposal of the materials in a less accessible, wilderness setting. Te Uru Taumatua and Te Urewera Board are working through which huts TUT will decommission, the timeline, with support and information from DOC as necessary.
State of huts disputed
Shaw has worked in Te Urewera since 1981. He left DOC in 2002 and now works on private conservation projects in the southern Whirinaki.
"Those huts aren't at the end of their life," he said. "Those huts would go another 50 years easily so long as they're given a bit of TLC every now and then when they need it. Ask anyone who uses them. They're structurally sound.
"Two of the huts they want to remove are biodiversity huts. They were built 30 years ago to the building code, and they're built like brick s..t-houses," he said.
"Those huts are structurally sound because under their own system, they cannot be left in that state. Every part of those huts is gone over with a fine-tooth comb. The system is that detailed that if the hut is missing a broom, it fails. So, there's no way that that those huts are unsound."
As well as the 44 huts in Te Urewera that are listed on the DOC website, there are others that are for species restoration work that are not available to the general public. Shaw said at least two of those were earmarked to be pulled out as well.
"It's not just me that regards those huts as an asset, a lot of Tūhoe regard them as an asset as well. They use them to base themselves from to gather food and conduct trips through the bush. I've written that letter [to the minister] with wholehearted support from kaumatua of Tūhoe."
He said three of the huts were listed as historic huts under the DOC system. "So, they're meant to be old. They're unique, totara slab huts. There's hardly any of them left in the country. They're in good nick, they're part of our heritage and they're going to rip them out.
"DOC work for us, the citizens of this country and here they are, without any consultation whatsoever, prepared to rip out a whole big part of our country heritage and infrastructure. It's shocking."
He said he believed both the minister and the director general were contravening the Conservation Act. "The act specifically states that DOC is meant to foster recreation and historic facilities. That's what they are meant to do on our behalf. That's what we pay them for. That's their job."
Te Uru Taumatua was approached for comment on the removal of the huts but declined to provide any response.
Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air