Coromandel Forest Park

{{Short description|Protected area of New Zealand}} {{Use New Zealand English|date=April 2024}} {{Infobox protected area | name = Coromandel Forest Park | iucn_category = | image = File:Coromandel_Forest_Park_(Coroglen_to_Tapu).jpg | image_alt = Photograph of Coromandel Forest Park | image_caption = Coromandel Forest Park, west towards Firth of Thames | map = New Zealand |relief=1 | map_alt = New Zealand relief map | map_caption = | label = Coromandel Forest Park | label_position = right | location = [[Waikato Region]], [[New Zealand]] | nearest_city = [[Tauranga]] | coordinates = {{coord|-37.0254308|175.6640365|display=inline, title}} | area = {{convert|71,899|ha}} | established = 1971 | visitation_num = | visitation_year = | governing_body = [[New Zealand Department of Conservation|Department of Conservation]] }} '''Coromandel Forest Park''' is a [[protected area]] and [[Conservation parks of New Zealand|conservation park]] administered by the [[New Zealand Department of Conservation|Department of Conservation]], covering 71,899 hectares of the [[Coromandel Peninsula]], in the [[Thames Coromandel District]] of the [[Waikato Region]].<ref name="snathan" />

It consists of hills and valleys covered in dense native bush.<ref name="ehughes">{{cite news |last1=Hughes |first1=Eleanor |title=Exploring Coromandel Peninsula's remote coastal walkway |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/destinations/nz/the-coromandel/300348035/exploring-coromandel-peninsulas-remote-coastal-walkway |agency=Stuff Travel |publisher=[[stuff.co.nz]] |date=19 July 2021}}</ref> One of the valleys, Kauaeranga Valley, also includes several swimming holes.<ref name="swimmingholes">{{cite news |last1=Thornber |first1=Lorna |title=Six of New Zealand's best hidden swimming holes |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/experiences/water-sports/300184154/six-of-new-zealands-best-hidden-swimming-holes |agency=Stuff Travel |publisher=[[stuff.co.nz]] |date=15 December 2020}}</ref>

The park borders the holiday resort town of [[Whangamatā]].<ref name="bestbeach">{{cite news |title=New Zealand's Best Beach: The finalists revealed in our quest for the perfect beach |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/new-zealands-best-beach-the-finalists-revealed-in-our-quest-for-the-perfect-beach/64XEQI4HVYZPU4MDD44NYMGNFU/ |agency=[[The New Zealand Herald#Herald on Sunday|Herald on Sunday]] |publisher=[[New Zealand Media and Entertainment]] |date=17 January 2021}}</ref>

==History==

===Early history===

The forest park began as the Crosbies Settlement, an isolated group of five lots farmed by European settlers Thomas and Agnes Crosbie. The lots were only accessible by foot, horseback or [[horse-drawn vehicle]]. The lots were sold to another family in 1917, who had abandoned by the land by 1926. Other attempts to farm the land were unsuccessful, and bush had reclaimed the cleared land by the 1960s.<ref name="serenity">{{cite news |last1=Hughes |first1=Eleanor |title=Finding serenity in the Coromandel Range |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/go-nz-a-weekend-hiking-trip-in-the-coromandel-ranges/U3CLOB3NPBD6ZKZT7WFNCGVEYI/ |agency=[[New Zealand Herald]] |publisher=[[New Zealand Media and Entertainment]] |date=3 November 2020}}</ref>

In 1970 and 1971, the lots were incorporated into the newly established Coromandel Forest Park.<ref name="snathan">{{cite web |last1=Nathan |first1=Simon |title=Conservation – a history - A background issue, 1908–1965 |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/table/13914/national-and-conservation-parks |website=[[Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand]] |publisher=[[Ministry for Culture and Heritage]]}}</ref> A remaining woolshed was used as a trampers' hut until it blew down in the late 1980s.<ref name="serenity" />

===Modern history===

The Department of Conservation built new huts in the park in 2010.<ref name="serenity" />

A canyoner was airlifted out of the park in October 2019 following a fall.<ref name="vmolyneux">{{cite news |last1=Molyneux |first1=Vita |title=Canonyer airlifted out of Coromandel Forest Park after falling 10 metres |url=https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2019/10/canonyer-airlifted-out-of-coromandel-forest-park-after-falling-10-metres.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191106023302/https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2019/10/canonyer-airlifted-out-of-coromandel-forest-park-after-falling-10-metres.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 6, 2019 |agency=[[Newshub]] |publisher=[[MediaWorks New Zealand]] |date=27 October 2019}}</ref>

In January 2021, the Department of Conservation expressed concerns about the scale of illegal dumping of rubbish in the Coromandel Forest Park, including in waterways.<ref name="dumpingin">{{cite news |last1=Preston |first1=Nikki |title=Dumping in paradise: The efforts people go to avoid tip fees |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/dumping-in-paradise-the-efforts-people-go-to-avoid-tip-fees/527RXQGJJHQB6SANBZ4F7KE3HQ/ |agency=[[New Zealand Herald]] |publisher=[[New Zealand Media and Entertainment]] |date=30 January 2021}}</ref>

Drone photography taken in June 2021 indicated possums were causing "top down" collapse in the Papakai block of the forest, while pest control was protecting native [[Metrosideros|rātā]] trees in other parts of the park.<ref name="spotdifference">{{cite news |title=Spot the difference - photos of Coromandel forest reveal impact of possums and pest control |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/300328169/spot-the-difference--photos-of-coromandel-forest-reveal-impact-of-possums-and-pest-control |agency=[[Waikato Times]] |publisher=[[stuff.co.nz]] |date=9 June 2021}}</ref><ref name="possums">{{cite news |title=Possums in Coromandel Forest destroy native trees and wildlife |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/waikato-news/news/possums-in-coromandel-forest-destroy-native-trees-and-wildlife/L4XZRC7VYUUTB46FWFVNDMPM3M/ |agency=Waikato News |publisher=[[New Zealand Media and Entertainment]] |date=15 June 2021}}</ref>

==Mining==

Wharekirauponga Forest, in the southern part of the park, was initially rejected as a gold-mining site in the 1980s, but further exploration drilling from 2005 onwards suggested it could be viable as a gold-mining site.<ref name="shope">{{cite news |last1=Hope |first1=Sharnae |title=Tunnel plan under conservation land raises ire of anti-mining group |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/300173519/tunnel-plan-under-conservation-land-raises-ire-of-antimining-group |agency=[[Waikato Times]] |publisher=[[stuff.co.nz]] |date=9 December 2020}}</ref>

[[OceanaGold]] purchased mining interest in 2016.<ref name="shope" /> It found gold and silver in the area in February 2019,<ref name="gpiddock-feb2019">{{cite news |last1=Piddock |first1=Gerald |title=Gold and silver found on conservation land in Coromandel |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/business/110876397/gold-and-silver-found-on-conservation-land-in-coromandel |agency=[[Waikato Times]] |publisher=[[stuff.co.nz]] |date=27 February 2019}}</ref> and formally applied for a mining permit in May 2019.<ref name="gpiddock-may2019">{{cite news |last1=Piddock |first1=Gerald |title=OceanaGold applies for mining permit in the Coromandel Forest Park |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/112667479/oceanagold-applies-for-mining-permit-in-the-coromandel-forest-park |agency=[[Waikato Times]] |publisher=[[stuff.co.nz]] |date=13 May 2019}}</ref>

An anti-mining group, Coromandel Watchdog, claims the area should be protected from gold mining because the bush has high ecological value, priority ecosystems, threatened species and the headwater of a major catchment.<ref name="shope" /> It claims mining would also destroy an important habitat of the endangered [[Archey's Frog]].<ref name="asmith">{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Allison |title=OceanaGold applies to mine under conservation land on Coromandel Peninsula |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news/oceanagold-applies-to-mine-under-conservation-land-on-coromandel-peninsula/3Q7W7V4OAHKWIFAWSQQ5B32R2A/ |agency=[[Bay of Plenty Times]] |publisher=[[New Zealand Media and Entertainment]] |date=11 May 2019}}</ref> Former MP [[Catherine Delahunty]] has been involved in protests against mining Coromandel Forest Park.<ref name="asmithprotests">{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Allison |title=Coromandel group protest against mining on DoC land block road |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/coromandel-group-protest-against-mining-on-doc-land-block-road/Q2J2VFNUY4P4HDCHUPHPDDAANI/ |agency=[[Bay of Plenty Times]] |publisher=[[New Zealand Media and Entertainment]] |date=14 September 2018}}</ref>

==See also== * [[Conservation parks of New Zealand]]

==References== {{Reflist}}

[[Category:Protected areas of Waikato]] [[Category:Thames-Coromandel District]] [[Category:1971 establishments in New Zealand]] [[Category:Protected areas established in 1971]]