Where timber meets trail

Supporting the harvest programme was the HEB traffic control team who served as the operation's "front of house," managing access points and sometimes fielding complaints from disappointed mountain bikers turned away from their favourite trails.

"The fact we have people out there managing the site is quite an expense to the operation," Dan says. "But it allows us to keep open parts of the forest that aren't at risk by managing the areas that are."

This approach sets Timberlands apart from other commercial operations. "There are other bike networks where they shut the whole forest," Dan says. "Here, we spend the money to manage the area that's at risk, and then the rest of the forest is business as usual."

Despite the extensive harvesting activity, the forest remained a hub of recreational events throughout the operation. The Whaka 100, Volcanic Epic, Giant 2W Gravity Enduro, Legend of the Peaks’ New Zealand Forest Marathon, and even the Mountain Bike National Championships all took place amid carefully managed harvesting operations.

"It's a real collective effort," says Dan. "From our team, the harvesting crew, and the distribution team — everyone plays a part in making this work without incident."

This collaborative approach extended to working closely with the Rotorua Lakes Council, Rotorua Trails Trust, concession holders like Mountain Bike Rotorua who run the shuttles, and various event organisers to ensure everyone could safely enjoy the forest despite the commercial activity.

The partnership with the Rotorua Trails Trust exemplifies how proactive communication can transform potential challenges into opportunities for improvement.

In the lead-up to last year’s logging activity where the Shuttle drop is, the Trust was invited to a meeting with Timberlands and the contractor to discuss the operations and how they would affect the trails. Trust Operations Manager Mark Upshall said this allowed his team to work on a plan to develop new trails to mitigate the temporary loss of access.

The Trust responded by opening previously unsanctioned tracks and beginning work on a new hand-built Grade 3 trail to encourage riding away from active logging areas.

But the real excitement comes from the opportunities that harvesting creates for trail redesign. 

"One of the more positive outcomes from logging operations is the chance to rethink, redesign, and rebuild affected trails,” says Mark. "This can revitalise trails that may have been around for anywhere from 10 to 30 years.

"While we're losing some trails we've grown super fond of, many of these tracks have seen incredible wear and tear after decades of thousands of riders enjoying them," says Mark.  "The original Taniwha DH line was built way back in 1994."

With a new hill revealed, the Trails Trust is consulting with its riding community to gather feedback on layouts and designs. "We're looking toward the redevelopment of this hill, so we can build the best trail network for the next 30 years.”

As the operation drew to a close, the crew wrapped up work at the highest point in the forest, with breathtaking views extending to the coast, the top of the Coromandel Peninsula, and Tuhua (Mayor Island) in the distance.

"These trees were planted in the 1980s," Dan says. "So this represents the culmination of decades of sustainable forest management."
 

Standing at this vantage point, visitors gets a visceral sense of what sustainable forestry truly means — a cycle of growth, harvest, and renewal that has been ongoing for generations and will continue long into the future.

With harvesting complete, attention now turns to replanting. The block harvested in November will be replanted soon, with Timberlands prioritising quick reestablishment to allow for better environmental outcomes. 

Meanwhile, the Rotorua Trails Trust is developing plans to rebuild and potentially rethink the trail network in harvested areas. These plans will go through the Whakarewarewa Recreational Management Group for approval. 

What makes Whakarewarewa Forest special isn't just its towering trees or thrilling trails, it's how these elements coexist. The careful balance maintained throughout this operation demonstrates our commitment to showing that commercial forestry and recreation can not only coexist but enhance each other.

"It's a commercial forest with huge recreation participation," Dan says. "We have to undertake a fair bit of management to make it work.” 

That management, invisible to most forest users but crucial to their safety, is what allows Whakarewarewa to remain both a productive timber resource and a recreational paradise.