It is an issue that was raised at a recent Southland Conservation Board meeting after Southland's conservator, Barry Hanson, was seconded to Wellington. He was being replaced with an acting conservator, Alan McKenzie, who is also filling the same role in Otago, after the illness and resignation of Marion van der Goes.
"I have been assured it is something that is not on the table," Prof Smith said.
Southland Conservation Board chairwoman Dr Viv Shaw said the board's earlier concerns about a conservancy merger had been reignited when it learned about the appointment of Mr McKenzie.
The appointment also highlighted frustrations the board had about the lack of consultation with boards during the ongoing reviews Doc was completing in the region, she said.
Dr Shaw met Mr McKenzie for the first time this week and raised the board's concerns especially the need for separate Otago and Southland boards.
"That makes the board's role even greater as we are the local connection, representatives of our communities and have a greater understanding of what is happening on conservation land in Southland."
The board was also worried about whether a joint acting conservator would be able to dedicate enough time to Southland which, along with the West Coast, has the largest conservancy in the country at 1.9 million hectares and includes two national parks, one of which, Fiordland, is the largest in New Zealand, she said.
"How can one person be conservator to near 2.5 million hectares of conservation land? He'll have his work cut out to get to grips with the issues."
It would take a decision by the Conservation Minister to change the structure of the boards, while the merger of conservancies could be done by Doc's director-general.
The board would not necessarily fight a merger of the two conservancies if Doc resourced both adequately, she said.
Prof Smith said while the board had not discussed the issue, it was proud of, and believed in, the region's distinctiveness.
She had no concerns about the joint conservator role as long as Mr McKenzie was able to get the work done, but acknowledged it was "asking a lot of him".
A Doc spokesman said Mr McKenzie would cover the two positions until Christmas and then the situation would be reassessed.
Asked if amalgamation or merger was a possibility, he said the department was reviewing its operations but no long-term decisions had been made.
