A plan to care for "Waikouaiti's second-best kept secret" is being developed, and public consultation on the Mt Watkin-Hikaroa Reserve management plan is expected before the end of the year.
Working party chairman Gerard Collings said during initial discussions with key stakeholders and the community, there had been "a clear message" of a strong desire to develop public access, while still preserving the ecological values of the reserve.
"It is quite an amazing reserve," Mr Collings said.
"It is Waikouaiti's second-best kept secret to the beach."
Once the draft management plan was complete, it would go to the Dunedin City Council and the Waikouaiti Coast Community Board for approval, before public consultation took place.
Mr Collings did not expect the management plan would be in place before the end of the year.
Presently public access to the 600ha scenic reserve is restricted and by permission only.
Council reserves policy and planning officer Paula Gunn said the reserve was closed to allow regeneration and to manage health and safety risks until the management plan was developed.
An ecological survey of the reserve noted the site had "nationally important volcanic boulder fields" and the "best remaining examples of dry coastal forest in Otago".
The land was set aside in 1984 by an Act of Parliament as endowment land for recreation and the Dunedin City Council took ownership in 1989 with local body amalgamation.
The reserve, which is 8km inland of Waikouaiti, had been leased for farming, but the council bought out the lease in 2004.
It then sold 350ha of open land to offset the cost of developing a scenic reserve around the forested portion.
At the time, environmental groups had opposed the sale, saying it could be replanted in native forest.
