Kahurangi National Park Management Plan draft partial review

Submissions closed 4pm Friday 4 September 2009

Background

The Department notified its intention to carry out a partial review of the plan in July 2007 and received 160 written suggestions. The Department took those suggestions into account when developing the draft partial review.

The draft partial review of the Kahurangi National Park Management Plan was prepared in accordance with Sections 46 and 47 of the National Parks Act 1980. It reviewed specific parts of the existing Kahurangi National Park Management Plan 2001. Matters reviewed were mountain bike access on defined tracks, air access provisions, hunting access, private accommodation on the Heaphy Track, and horse trekking on a defined track at Puponga.

Looking towards Perry Saddle Hut
on the Heaphy Track

The Department of Conservation prepared the partial review of the management plan in consultation with key stakeholders, the Nelson/Marlborough Conservation Board, iwi, and other interested groups and individuals.

The Department notified the draft partial review of the plan on 1 July 2009 and submissions could be made until 4pm on 4 September 2009. Submissions could only be made on those sections of the plan being reviewed, not the entire plan. A total of 645 submissions were received.

During the submission period public presentations were held in Nelson, Motueka, Takaka and Karamea.

A panel comprising four members of the Nelson/Marlborough Conservation Board and two representatives of the Director-General of Conservation considered all the submissions. This included receiving verbal submissions from those submitters who indicated they wished to speak to their submissions at hearings in Nelson, Motueka, Takaka and Karamea.

At its 3 March 2010 meeting the Nelson/Marlborough Conservation Board considered the draft partial review which had been revised in accordance with decisions made on submissions. The Board agreed with the Department's recommendation to send the revised draft partial review to the New Zealand Conservation Authority for consideration and approval.

The Nelson/Marlborough Conservation Board and the Department of Conservation jointly presented the revised draft plan to the New Zealand Conservation Authority on 15 April 2010, and have subsequently met on 20 July 2010 to discuss further revisions to the plan.

Next steps

Final approval of the partial review rests with the New Zealand Conservation Authority who, as part of their consideration, will have regard to the views of the Minister of Conservation.  Should the Authority approve mountain bike access in the Park the current bylaws prohibiting mountain biking will first need to be amended.

View the plan

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