Although Mr Palmer's family and both local police and Search and Rescue (SAR) volunteers remain committed to finding him, the official operation to find Mr Palmer was scaled back on Saturday, a week after he failed to return from a three-hour trek on the Dingle Burn Track on May 5.
Constable Nayland Smith, of Omarama, said local residents were also still keen to help, but warned unco-ordinated independent searches could cause more harm than good.
"Both police and SAR are determined to find Mr Palmer, and will continue to search the area when able.
"It is inevitable that members of the public wish to help, but with the deteriorating weather and low-lying snow, I would recommend against this."
However, if members of the public were determined to search, they should first contact the Omarama police station, so unsanctioned searches could be co-ordinated and any GPS data downloaded, Const Smith said.
In the wake of what is looking more and more like a tragedy, North Otago trampers have also been reminded to take precautions as cold weather affected many areas yesterday.
The Department of Conservation's Te Manahuna Twizel community relations programme manager, Sally Jones, said the conservation park remained open to the public, and added that although there had been no previous reports of injuries in the area, trampers were being advised to take precautions by checking weather conditions and familiarising themselves with future forecasts.
Ms Jones said the department continued to assist with ongoing efforts to locate Mr Palmer, and had already provided assistance with communications and water to the SAR base at the Doc-owned Birchwood Homestead.
Doc had also advised the helicopter company contacted by the Palmer family to support the family's decision to continue searching and told them there would be no concession fees charged, she said.
New Zealand Mountain Safety Council bushcraft manager Chris Owens said trampers should leave detailed information of planned routes, details of when they would be back with friends or family.
