trees

Seriously…they are…the weirdo tree hugging loons of Buller…going to hold a funeral for a tree:

Buller conservationists plan to hold a wake for a 500-year-old kahikatea tree that was felled by the Department of Conservation so it could extend a nearby tramping hut.

DoC is adamant the tree had to go to keep trampers staying at the Mokihinui Forks Hut safe.

However, Westport conservationist Peter Lusk is horrified, and says the tree had stood firm for centuries.

“It was here when Abel Tasman sailed past,” Mr Lusk said today.  Read more »

It’s an oldie but a goodie, watch as smell hippies cry over dead trees:

Read more »

It is a tree FFS.  How the hell does a tree end up costing this much?

$6951 charged by Auckland Transport (costs case for resource consent, engineer and arborist’s fees plus travel charges)
$2832.38 by Auckland Parks, Sports & Recreation (incurred costs $1294 plus budgeted removal costs $1538.38)
$2516 for resource consent processing
$12,299.38 total costs to date

Where is Sandra Goudie and her chainsaw these days?  Her words from 2005 certainly apply here:

“These people are sick of the political correctness crap. They don’t mind a bit of oversight or a few guidelines, but they just want tools to manage it, or they want [Council] to manage it.

“We’ve got to knock some of this red tape on the head.”

Auckland needs a redneck to sort this crap out.