Date:  22 November 2024

The Department of Conservation (DOC), Poutini Ngāi Tahu and the West Coast Tai Poutini Conservation Board are inviting the public to take part in the survey, which opened in October and has so far received 258 responses.

Anyone who wants to take part can find it on the DOC website (doc.govt.nz/west-coast-cms). Its due to close on Monday 16 December.

Up till the 18 November, 34% of survey responses were from the West Coast. Of the rest, 52% were from other parts of the South Island and 14% were from the North Island.

The survey is the first step in informing how public conservation lands and waters on Te Tai Poutini West Coast should be managed for the next decade and beyond.

Rob Wilson, (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Mamoe – Ngāti Māhaki) South Westland dairy farmer and Conservation Board member says 84 percent of Te Tai Poutini is public conservation land, so the CMS will play a significant role in shaping the regions future.

“We’re surrounded by public conservation land here in South Westland. Concession holders, farmers, and whitebaiters will all be affected by the new CMS, and changes could be made without their input unless they have their say.

“Coasters, there is less than a month to have our say on this. So try and do the survey before the 16 December.”

Owen Kilgour, Western South Island Operations Director says people’s views are important, “We want to make sure we are hearing from the community about the places and activities important to them and how they think the whenua should be managed in future."

“Some of the topics raised so far are maintaining the natural state of the coast, maintaining tracks and huts, access for hunters and other activities like kayaking and commercial activity.

“We’ll put a summary on the website once we have analysed all the results so the public can see what we have learned.”

The feedback gathered through the survey and at community events in November will inform DOC about current issues and challenges, and appetite for change, which will be used for writing the draft plan.

There will be further opportunities for public input when the draft plan is released for formal submissions before being finalised.

Background information

The work to write a new CMS is happening in tandem with consultation on proposals which seek to modernise the concessions and planning system to make it more efficient and responsive.

The link to the consultation can be found here: https:/www.doc.govt.nz/get-involved/have-your-say/all-consultations/2024-consultations/proposals-to-modernise-the-conservation-system.

The views of the community are important in any planning framework, and regardless of the outcome of the consultation, the responses from the survey will be used to inform DOC’s management approach on the West Coast.

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