The Lake Taupō Forest Trust is kaitiaki for 33,733 hectares, with large-scale forestry operations across the whenua providing the vast share of income which is distributed to the owners and descendants of the original owners.
It all started with Māori owners of 58 land blocks coming together in 1969 and forming the trust and entering a forestry lease with the Government. Over the years, the Trust has acquired further lands so that it now holds 68 Māori land blocks and 12 general land blocks including land and building for its headquarters in Tūrangi.
It has 24,000 hectares (71 per cent) of its lands in exotic forest, with the remainder left as native bush around historical and cultural areas, or as broad bands of bush left untouched around the many streams and rivers which flow through these lands into Lake Taupō.
Planting began in 1969 and was completed by the late-1980s. Harvesting began in 1994, and the harvested areas are replanted each year, thus creating the second rotation crop.
In 2000, the Crown and Trust agreed to change the terms of their agreement from a 70-year, two-rotation arrangement to a one-rotation lease.
The Crown involvement ceased in July 2021 and since then the Trust receives 100 per cent of forestry income. But it is also responsible for 100 for all costs including pruning, harvesting and replanting. About 900 hectares a year are harvested/replanted.
Lake Taupō Forest is managed by NZ Forest Managers Ltd, a specialist forest management company owned by Tupu Angitu Ltd, a subsidiary of Lake Taupō Forest Trust, and Lake Rotoaira Forest Trust.
NZ Forest Managers is based in Tūrangi and has a long history with this forest and others in the region. Today the Trust has more than 15,000 owners, many of whom value their access to the land for recreation activities, including hunting and fishing.
Many descendants have closer links – working in the forestry operations which are big employers in the region for Māori in general and Tūwharetoa in particular.
Around 98 per cent of the forest is planted in Pinus radiata, and the remaining 2 per cent is mainly Douglas Fir, Eucalyptus, Cypress and Larch.
Cyclone Gabrielle in February 2023 smashed about 4200 hectares of forest aged 20 years or more. From this area, an estimated 2.2 million cubic metres of logs needed to be salvaged.
The impacts of the cyclone will be felt for some time in annual harvesting and replanting numbers.
Assessment of the workforce in Lake Taupō Forest is done as part of NZ Forest Managers annual workforce survey. The data they report is from all forests they manage – primarily Lake Taupō Forest and Lake Rotoaira Forest, but others too.
All silvicultural and harvesting crews and associated workers are asked to complete the survey, but the trucking workforce – many of whom work across a large number of forests – are not part of the survey.
The most recent survey was done in late 2022, from which 161 responses were received. Key findings of the survey were that:
