West Coast Conservation Management Strategy process halted

DOC has decided to halt the West Coast Te Tai o Poutini Conservation Management Strategy (CMS) amendment process while it works with iwi, conservation and recreation groups to ensure the legal process is robust.

The amendments are necessary to allow for a wider range of commercial activities, including aircraft landings, to take place in the Park and specifically on the Paparoa Track when it opens in December. Recreational use of mountain bikes will be allowed on the track without the amendments.

The Department will also recommend to the New Zealand Conservation Authority (NZCA) that the provisions in the Paparoa National Park Management Plan (the Plan) that allow recreational aircraft landings in Paparoa National Park (the Park) are quashed.

DOC will develop a process to partially review the CMS alongside the stakeholders concerned. Submissions received to date on the CMS amendments will be considered within any future processes developed.