Submitters to the Mt Aspiring National Park management plan
should receive a response to the points they raised within
the next few weeks, Department of Conservation Otago
conservancy community relations manager Ken Stewart said
yesterday.
There were 436 public submissions to the management plan and
70 individuals or groups also attended public hearings in
Dunedin, Wanaka and Queenstown.
Mr Stewart said the large number of submissions showed how
important the park was to a wide range of people.
Meanwhile, the Otago Conservation Board considered the
department's draft management plan at its meeting in Tarras
last month and has referred several matters back to the
department for more work.
The department expects it will be several months before the
draft plan is authorised by the New Zealand Conservation
Authority.
Issues that had generated the most interest were aircraft
use, how best to preserve natural values and the special
character of the park, hunting, proposals for additions to
the park, zoning of some areas, concessionaire use and air
access to Bevan Col.
Mr Stewart said there were some instances where views were
polarised but the department had carefully considered all
views.
It had been a major task for the department to work through
the various views and make its decisions, Mr Stewart said.
Bookmark/Search this post with:
A name, residential address, and (preferably residential) telephone number is required from readers who comment on ODT Online. These details will not be visible to site visitors.