Breathing life
into a very special forest
The Raukūmara range forms part of the largest continuous native forest remaining in Te Ika a Maui, the North Island of Aotearoa, New Zealand. Spanning 250,000 hectares, the Raukūmara is a spectacular mountain to sea landscape linking diverse ecosystems and holding a profound ancestral connection for our people.
A forest on the brink of collapse
Te Whānau-ā-Apanui and Ngāti Porou saw the ngahere (forest) dying, we saw the collapsing canopy and heard the absence of manu (birds). Severe browsing from deer, goats and possums had crippled the ability of the Raukūmara to naturally heal herself. And the destruction didn't stop there. Rats, stoats and feral cats were eating out native species, creating a deafening silence across the forest. However, our people have refused to accept that silence, and have risen to lead this bold indigenous restoration initiative.
Raukūmara Pae Maunga has transformed ecological neglect into decisive action, restoring this significant mountain to sea forest ecosystem at landscape scale in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
Our people are leading every aspect of the work.
From aerial 1080 operations, deer and goat control, advanced monitoring, deep community engagement, we have built a specialist team who can implement large-scale operations for ecosystem recovery.
12120+
Ungulates culled
130000ha
Project area
117215ha
Aerial 1080
99%
Māori employed
"If anyone wants advice on effective lobbying, I suggest they talk to Te Whānau a Apanui and Ngāti Porou. With the help of a helicopter, they dropped me deep in the forest of the Raukūmara range to see how large numbers of deer had not only eaten out the forest understory but stripped the trees of bark. I was close to tears, seeing the collapsing forest. There had been no pest control for decades, but that resulted in this project, Raukūmara Pae Maunga. We really do need to get on top of rising deer numbers throughout our forests."
Hon. Eugenie Sage
Conservation Minster, New Zealand
2017-2022
Rare and extraordinary species call Raukūmara home. Conservation is essential for their protection.
