March 06, 2017
Iwi back tree planting to protect dune lake
Te Runanga o Ngati Kahu has teamed up with Far North Regional Council and the Department of Conservation to stop a far north lake being used as a car wash.
The 6.9 hectare Lake Waiporohita on the Karikari Peninsula is classed as being in an outstanding ecological state.
But runanga chief executive Anahera Herbert-Graves says like other dune lakes in the area it us under stress from nutrient runoff, invasive pest fish and water weeds.
Because it is easily accessible to the public, it also gets used as an unofficial car wash by 4WD vehicles using nearby beaches or boat-ramps.
The council has approved a $50,000 project of fencing, exotic tree removal and riparian replanting, including landscaping a strip where the road runs alongside the lake to make access more difficult.
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