The GWBN has agreement for 520 kms of backcountry tramping track. The GWBN track maintenance programme for tracks allows for approximately 120-140 kilometres of tramping track in maintained annually. Tracks are recut every 3 – 6 years, depending on vegetation regrowth, tree fall etc. Also, to spread costs evenly, sites requiring helicopter access are limited to 2-3 annually.
In the first 3 years of the track program. we did maintenance of 600 kilometres of track. Some of this maintenance was repeat cutting where tarcks are scheduled 2-3 yearly for upkeep. Our volunteers often encountered heavily over grown tracks. DOC had virtually no funding to maintain backcountry tracks. Progress was often slow, and over three year clearing 600 kms of track, it has taken 20 volunteer hours to complete every kilometre.
Progress todate has shown that the community can undertake responsibility for basic maintenance of tracks in key forest parks in Aotearoa. Looking ahead, the GWBN will continue to maintain almost all of the large track network within the forest parks in Tararua, Remutaka and Aorangi forest parks.
Volunteer upkeep of tracks provides substantion benifits to DOC. Costs are releatively low, and maintaining a network of 500 kilometres can be undertaken for a cost of $100 to $200 per kilometre cleared. This includes the many roadend accessible tracks that do not require costly helicopter hire. This cost is minor compared to the cost of contractors or department employees. Local DOC have been able to focus on other high priotiry work thanks to our volunteer effort.
