Pureora Forest Park is a 760-square-kilometre (290 sq mi)[1] protected area in the North Island of New Zealand.
[2] Established in 1978, after a series of protests and tree sittings, the park is one of the largest intact tracts of native forest in the North Island and has high conservation value due to the variety of plant life and animal habitats.
Anti-logging protests were led by conservation activists Stephen King, Shirley Guildford, and others in the late 1970s in what is now Pureora Forest Park.
The result of their efforts was tri-fold: the park was established in 1978; the New Zealand Government changed rules to meet the protesters' demand to permanently stop logging operations; and the Native Forest Restoration Trust was formed which ensured that the park develops several areas into its present format.
To the north west is a peak called Pukeokahu (844 metres (2,769 ft)) that should not be confused with a mountain of the same name much further south in the Rangitikei District of Manawatū-Whanganui region.
[19] Pigs are present,[20] and of the at least eleven pest species that co-exist within the park, possums and goats are subject to management operations.
[21] Camping, picnicking, swimming, and mountain biking (e.g. the Timber Trail opened in 2013) are popular within the park's confines.
[15] A 1940s steam hauler, used to transport logs through the forest for milling, and a 2-tonne Caterpillar tractor are still present in the reserve; the latter was used in the 1950s to harvest many totara for posts.