Minister for Hunting and Fishing Todd McClay has launched an Access Charter (the Charter) to ensure better access for recreational hunting and fishing on public conservation land (PCL) across New Zealand.
“This Charter establishes guiding principles for the Department of Conservation (DOC) to provide clear and transparent decisions on PCL access that makes it easier for kiwis to go hunting and fishing.
“As Minister for Hunting and Fishing, I want to make sure every New Zealander who wants to get out and enjoy themselves, feed their families or help manage game animal populations can do so easily.
Every year 1.2m people hunt and fish recreationally. The Charter guarantees a common and consistent approach to access across all regions and ensures that PCL will always be open for recreational use and that DOC will only limit this use rarely.
“This Charter will help DOC to provide uniform rules and guidance across the country, making it clear and consistent for all.
“The Charter is the first of its kind and a significant step towards preserving New Zealand’s hunting and fishing heritage while safeguarding the experience for generations of Kiwi’s to come.”
For further information, permits, responsibilities and maps, please visit:
Department of Conservation
http://www.doc.govt.nz | Phone: 0800 362 468
Fish & Game New Zealand
http://www.fishandgame.org.nz | Phone: 04 499 4767
The Charter can be found HERE
Well this is all very well. But if DOC keeps aerially topdressing public lands with hazardous toxins (e.g. 1080, brodifacoum) who wants to go there i.e. public lands?
The underlying point is DOC has no justification for its toxin policies, the scientific research shows no benefit to the ecosystem.
It’s not just public lands as “managed” by DoC. Under government policies there are thousands of hectares of private land, once accessed by permission, that are now locked up by speculators, often foreign speculators, who erect padlocked gates and won’t give access.
Carbon farming with pine monocultures, is swallowing up productive beef and sheep farms. You can’t eat pine trees!
John Key’s ETS was a disaster. It ignores vegetation under 5 metres in height. How illogical and stupid is that?
There is access and access.
DOC has been an abject failure in negotiating access through private property onto large tracts of public land that are effectively gridlocked shutting out the public while creating value to the landowner in front.
It is frustrating walking through thick scrub or bashing up river beds knowing there is a private road to the same end point.
Probably of little moment to DOC who hire large safe helicopters on the public purse.
This is great to see .. and so overdue.
Once upon a time, I was involved in the formation of an initiative – which we called the Canterbury Regional Access Group (CRAG). This was a collaboration between the five Canterbury Branches of the NZ Deerstalkers Association (NZDA).
Through this work .. we became painfully aware of the public access opportunities that had been and were being heart-breaking squandered. Perhaps the best example of this .. was during the likes of the Tenure Review process. This was a golden opportunity to entrench fantastic public access into the Public Conservation Land along large tracts of the foothills of the Southern Alps .. and set a great precedent for public access elsewhere.
Oh, how we wish this Charter was in place a long time ago.
Of course, having such a Charter sets a great framework .. but it is only the beginning. There is an awful lot of work to do .. to work through individual access opportunities and issues .. and turn the potential it offers, into practical reality.
One thing that has always greatly saddened me – and still does – is the fact that the public service .. and the public servants it employs .. are so very often the greatest obstacle, to the provision of public access. I hope this Charter empowers them to “get out of the way” .. and to become great enablers of public access (rather than great obstacles).
I could wax lyrical on this subject for hours .. such is my passion for public access, and the many facets of it …
Bottom line .. great to see this Charter coming into being .. let us hope what it brings about goes a long way to realising the vast potential that exists in this really important area.
Bring it on.