Lookout 2000 celebration milestones

A Kauri tree begins to grow

At the lookout tower site is a memorial to the man whose work did the most to save the kauris of the Waipoua forest: McGregor. A stone carries a message. A tree lives the message.

Here is the Kauri as it existed in 1997. If it is still here at the beginning of the next millennium, make it a gauge of health of the planet for the next millennium. Check it each year. Keep a report. This tree should live a thousand years. It is Gaia's Thermometer.

Overview. A standing stone with a bronze plaque marks the planting of the kauri. But where is the tree? As a baby tree, it needs the protection of larger trees overhead.

Closer. Climbing up the lookout tower and zooming in on the memorial, you can see the baby kauri in line behind the stone. A larger file records the site as a baseline.

Kauri. Here it is, the handsome infant kauri tree. It was planted in 1979. It will mature in 1000 years. That's just in time for the 3rd millennium. A larger file records the milestone tree we'll be watching for the next millennium.

Kauri's leaves. Look at the foilage now. As the kauri grows, the bottom branches die.

Rickers. On a path down from the lookout is a fine stand of young kauri trees. The memorial kauri will look like this in a few years, if all goes well.

Discussion

What could affect health of the Kauri? Are these factors important to us and the planet too? Artificially planted, does it have the forest protection it needs? Will it survive the legal battle between native Maori and paheka (recent settlers)? If land becomes Maori-owned, what are the plans? In 2010, an update from a NZ friend: the Tangata Whenua (literally 'People of the Land', the local tribe) Te Iwi O Te Roroa have taken over the management of the forest from DOC.
Here's a short video about what they're doing,
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/video_popup_flash_skin/1806672

A NZ friend writes from http://foto.bajko.net/:

"The best example of virgin Kauri forest I've encountered is Trounson Kauri Park a ways south from Waipoua. It's a valley that was spared the chop by a Mr Trounson who owned the land.
http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/land-and-freshwater/land/mainland-islands-a-z/trounson-kauri-park/
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/kauri-forest/4/1 It really has a different feel from any other bush (forest) that I've been in. It really does come from the Jurassic age. All Kauri are being threatened with a Phytopthora fungus that is killing some of them. Today I took one of my disabled boys for a walk in the bush not far from here and at the beginning of the track was a box with disinfectant spray to do our shoes. I spray boots and shoes now when I enter our bit of bush. All the Kauri look very healthy and I want to keep them that way. The Phytopthora fungus is similar to that that kill avacado and tamarillo trees and seems to have surfaced in the last 5-6 years."