Uncertainty has surrounded Te Anau Bird Sanctuary/Punanga Manu o Te Anau since earlier this year when the Department of Conservation announced it was "exploring alternatives" to its management and later revealed it would re-home birds.
The sanctuary, on the shores of Lake Te Anau, is home to a range of native birds including takahē.
On Tuesday, Doc met with Fiordland Community Board chairwoman Diane Holmes following receipt of an impassioned letter supporting the site.
Ms Holmes was optimistic after the meeting that the sanctuary’s next steps would be positive as key stakeholders worked together.
"I will say after that meeting yesterday we are satisfied that they’re [Doc] considering all their options."
But she would not divulge what was discussed, and Doc has remained equally tight-lipped.
"We had a really positive meeting with the board chair where they outlined their concerns and we spoke about the challenges we face," Doc Te Anau operations manager John Lucas said.
Mr Lucas confirmed his organisation had made a "tough decision" early in the year to transition out of management.
Doc announced in July it would begin reducing hours and re-homing birds — despite a public consultation still being in progress — because it needed to redirect resources to other work such as infrastructure on predator-free islands.
Takahē would stay, but kōwhiowhio/whio had already been re-homed, Doc said.
Pāteke/brown teal and Antipodes Island kākāriki would follow at a later date.
Following the July announcement, Ms Holmes wrote that the pace and approach of bird removals had caused community unease and also expressed concern about potential tourism impact.
The site is owned by Southland Fish & Game which has enlisted the help of Ōraka-Aparima Rūnaka to help create a vision for it; the rūnaka in turn got regional development agency Great South on board.
Great South general manager regional strategy Bobbi Brown said 90 submissions were received during a three-week consultation ending August 3 and he hoped the next steps could be shared soon.
Rūnaka deputy chairwoman Sue Crengle said in an earlier statement that the sanctuary was a taonga: "a treasure for our people and our region".
According to background information provided by Doc, the department became involved with the sanctuary in 1987.
Doc said it was thought the site was set up by the Southern Acclimatisation Society before becoming a Department of Internal Affairs hatchery in 1945.
Southland Fish & Game said it received ownership of the site from Doc in 2005.
Doc’s February announcement about managing the sanctuary followed a 2024 review which assessed its condition, purpose and sustainability.
• LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
