Clubs, iwi say landings flout law

Federated Mountain Clubs says it is "deeply disappointed" at what it sees as a lack of progress by the Department of Conservation in allowing up to 80 glacier landings a day on Fiordland’s highest peak.

It has also been revealed the landing trial on Mt Tutoko will run for two years, not one.

West Coast hapu  Makaawhio is among a number of concerned parties after the Doc head office agreed to allow the tourist flights on to their ancestral mountain, without consultation.

Earlier this year Doc agreed to aviation industry requests to ramp up helicopter landings on the Ngapunatoru ice plateau on the mountain, from eight a day to 80.

Many of the parties involved, including Ngai Tahu, met Doc in Invercargill on Tuesday.

Federated Mountain Clubs president Peter Wilson said yesterday the landing trial was for two or three years.

"They are still calling it a trial or research programme," Mr Wilson said.

The club was "deeply disappointed Doc appears to have made very little progress" and seemed "incapable of resolving the issues".

However, he praised the aircraft users’ co-operation and willingness to discuss the problem and work together.

Doc planning, permissions and land director Marie Long said yesterday the meeting with Ngai Tahu, Southland Conservation Board, the aviation and tourism industries, Federated Mountain Clubs and  New Zealand Alpine Club was to discuss the trial and to seek input into the monitoring and research strategy.

In July, it was reported the trial was for a year.

However, Ms Long said yesterday the new concessions enabled quarterly reviews to consider outcomes of the monitoring and the research.

"This is for a period of two years, unless impacts are deemed to be high. Concessions can be changed if impact is considered inappropriate."

Helicopters would be supplying Doc with GPS data to map flight paths.

This would provide insight into the impacts in the immediate area.

"Using the GPS data, we’ll also be undertaking soundscaping work. This will feed into the national park plan review. This is part of a national soundscape research project."

Activity returns were to be provided quarterly rather than annually, detailing all landings and number of passengers.

Research would feed back into the national park management plan review, which starts in 2017.

Te Runanga o Makaawhio said in July the increased flights were not notified to Ngai Tahu, even though Mt Tutoko has legal protection under Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu Act as a topuni, or place of special significance.

Mr Wilson, from Federated Mountain Clubs, has previously blamed the tourism industry for putting "immense pressure" on Doc to "flout the law".

- Laura Mills