The Ngati Kurumōkihi hapū gave the reserves to the people of New Zealand (Aotearoa), three of these conservation areas are located in the Maungaharuru Range.
This conservation reserve makes up 800 hectares of the Maungaharuru Range which is home to native plant and bird species including wētā, kaka and kiwi.
An organised pest management programme began in 1996 in the area by Predator Free Hawke's Bay[6] to remove the introduced mammals destroying the natural environment.
In 2018 Titi (Cook's Petrel) were returned to their original nesting site in the range through the translocation project Poutiri Ao o Tane.
In 2005 two consents were issued in the Maungaharuru area, one for the private company Hawkes Bay Wind Farm Ltd and the other by Unison Networks Limited.