Outdoor recreation clubs need to join forces to uphold the public's right to access conservation land.
That was the message Federated Mountain Clubs (FMC) national president Robin McNeill brought to a meeting in Queenstown last night to discuss recent tension between outdoor enthusiasts and leaseholders of alpine land in the Southern Lakes region.
Access problems at Coronet Peak ski area, the Remarkables and Pisa ranges and the Soho Basin came in for particular attention at the meeting, attended by about 120 people.
Conflict over access to recreation reserve land leased by NZSki has been aired publicly this year, especially over ski touring at Coronet Peak and the closure of the Remarkables access road over the past summer.
Mr McNeill said the Remarkables access road issue was an example of NZSki ''taking the lazy way out'' by failing to consult outdoor groups.
It was vital for outdoor recreation clubs to work together to pressure Doc to fulfil its statutory role to foster recreation.
In the case of the access road closure, such pressure could have forced Doc to ''talk to NZSki and say yes, we know you've got problems, but actually that's not a good enough answer.''
''Having a room full of people like this is great.''
The best outcome of the dispute was that ''everyone learned that actually recreationalists do have rights - it is public conservation land owned by all of us, and so we do have rights.''
Meeting organiser and FMC executive member Erik Bradshaw, of Queenstown, said he had noticed public access being curtailed over the past three years, mainly as a result of new health and safety legislation and changing management practices on the part of leaseholders.
A recurring theme was Doc's failure to be proactive in protecting public access, and its culture of ''waiting for people to complain'', Mr Bradshaw said.
However, he cited a snowcat skiing operation in the Soho Basin as an example of recreationalists failing to respect the health and safety obligations of leaseholders.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the NZ Alpine Club, the Queenstown Climbing Club, NZSki and Doc.
