June 1, 2004 – Christchurch
MEDIA RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE USE
High country package good news for farmers
Forest and Bird welcomed the Government's high country package announced today and said it would lead to better
management of high country conservation lands and could improve outcomes from tenure review.
"It's good to see the Government committing to increased pest and weed control on the high country land returned to full
public ownership. There are major pest and weed problems in the high country - Department of Conservation efforts to
control them will please conservationists and farmers alike," Forest and Bird's Conservation Manager Kevin Hackwell said
following the launch.
"New money to speed up the tenure review process is also welcome and will create certainty for farmers. However a faster
process will put enormous pressure on public interest groups such as Forest and Bird, Federated Mountain Clubs, the New
Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects and the Council of Outdoor Recreation Associations of New Zealand. We are
already over-stretched," he said.
"The involvement of public interest organisations is critical to successful tenure review. They often identify important
conservation areas and public access needs that can be missed by government departments. Failure to adequately involve
NGOs could cause irrecoverable mistakes leading to the destruction of important habitats and the exclusion of the public
from its own land," he said.
"We hope the package will be used to protect habitats of high conservation value on the valley floors and lower slopes.
To date tenure review has tended to protect the high mountain ranges while allowing the destruction of special wetlands
and shrublands on the valley floors," he said.
Contact: Kevin Hackwell, Conservation Manager, 04 385 7374 (w)