While acquisition of Barton's Bush was intended to preserve the bush remnant as an indication of what the forest had been like before the Europeans came to New Zealand, it was far from pristine. During the 1940s the area had been logged. Based on the remaining stumps, over 100 Totara had been felled, while the bush was also infested with the exotic pest plants Old Mans Beard ("Clematis Vitalba") and Wandering Jew ("Tradescantia Fluminensis"), both detrimental to the forest. Since 1980 a control programme has actively removed these pest plants and supplementary plantings have encouraged native flora development.