DOC

Walkers and hikers in the Waikato are flouting Covid-19 lockdown rules, according to the Department of Conservation.

Roads into Egmont National Park will be closed following an order by Civil Defence in a bid to combat Covid-19.

The Department of Conservation is closing all huts and campsites.

The Department of Conservation is temporarily closing its visitor centres to the public as of today, Monday 23 March, and will cancel all hut and campsite bookings from tomorrow.

An operator specialising in tours for international students has been fined a total of $12,000 for illegally guiding on public conservation land, including two national parks.

Kapiti Island Nature Tours joined the Department of Conservation to return Calvin, an endangered greenturtle, to the wild at Rangiputa in Northland.

The first stage of the Taranaki Crossing development in Egmont National Park has begun.

DOC will undertake a partial review of the Otago Conservation Management Strategy to consider whether new cycle and mountain bike trails could be developed on public conservation land in Otago.

The Paparoa Track has fully opened after a slip and prolonged adverse weather left the middle section of the track closed since its official launch on 1 December last year.

Design work on the upgrade of the visitor infrastructure at Punakaiki is set to begin.

A surge in visitors is predicted for the Awaroa/Godley Head site overlooking Lyttelton Harbour.

A tourist’s drone has been seized in in Tongariro National Park where they are forbidden.

The Southern Milford-Mackinnon Experience will be on offer from next Wednesday.

Artists Denise Batchelor and Sarah Hunter have been offered Wild Creations funding and the opportunity to undertake a DOC conservation experience.

Fisheries NZ and DOC are seeking feedback on proposed marine protected areas off the southeast coast of the South Island.

The Department of Conservation has missed out on around $1.47m from cancelled bookings on its temporarily closed Milford and Routeburn tracks but many trampers have opted for other Great Walks.

The Blue Pools new carpark and toilet block, on State Highway 6 near Makarora, the Otago side of the Haast Pass, will be opened from today.

DOC is investing more than $3m upgrading popular camping grounds at Waikawau Bay, Stony Bay and Fletcher Bay near the northern tip of the Coromandel Peninsula.

The Department of Conservation has installed new signs along the Tasman National Park track to encourage hikers to use toilets.

The Department of Conservation is using geo-targeting technology to manage visitor impact as part of its $150,000 behaviour in nature campaign, ‘Love this Place’.

Overseas visitor numbers and tourism’s impact on the environment are hot button issues, according to DOC.

The Department of Conservation has acknowledged the “frustrations and concerns” it has caused Gannet Beach Adventures after it suspended the operator’s concession to run tours at Cape Kidnappers. 

Work has begun on the second bridge at Hokitika Gorge, which will link two sections of new track creating a one hour loop walk.

Those using The Remarkables access road outside of the ski season will soon be charged $10 per vehicle after NZSki installed a new access gate.

A budding conservationist and her mother had a unique experience to learn about local threatened species and directly help with conservation efforts.

The 68-year-old business has had its DOC concession suspended.

The Mangapurua section of the Mountains to Sea cycle trail has been reopened following extensive work by the Department of Conservation.

Ten walks on Aotea/Great Barrier Island have reopened following upgrades to prevent the spread of kauri dieback disease.

The Department of Conservation is “stuck between concessionaires who want their rights” and its obligations to iwi, says Lou Sanson.

As the hot weather ramps up, the Department of Conservation is urging people not to light fires in prohibited areas.

A Hector’s dolphin has been found dead on the foreshore at the head of Piopiotahi/Milford Sound in Fiordland.

The Department of Conservation has launched a new $150,000 campaign and is ploughing a record $5m extra spend into operations as it steps up its management of visitors to New Zealand’s great outdoors this summer.

The Department of Conservation is assessing the future of foot access to Ball Hut and the Tasman Glacier after torrential rainfall. 

DOC’s Lou Sanson on the impact of climate change, changing visitor behaviour, and moving beyond sustainable tourism.

The fin of a rare Hector’s dolphin on the eastern seaboard of the Coromandel Peninsula has been sighted.

The Department of Conservation and the New Zealand Alpine Club are celebrating 30 years of managing huts together in the West Matukituki Valley, Mt Aspiring National Park.

More than 6600 bed nights have been snapped up on the newest Great Walk – 91% of them by New Zealanders.

DOC has implemented an advisory system for ‘bad weather days’ on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing that will run until the end of the summer walking season.

A ‘difficult-to-fix’ slip will mean the middle section of the new Paparoa Track will be closed when it opens on 1 December.

The Diamond Lake Track near Wanaka has reopened following extensive repair work.

Upgrades to Northern Coromandel campgrounds have taken place over winter as the Department of Conservation looks to improve the long-term sustainability of Coromandel camping holidays.

Te Araroa trail walkers are being urged to take a pledge before embarking on the 3000km journey.

A new bridge on West Auckland’s  Te Henga Walkway is now open, replacing the 30-year-old bridge on the popular coastal track.

The Porirua Adventure Park has been given the green light following its final consent being signed off by the Department of Conservation.

Dolphin Seafaris has been awarded the Department of Conservation’s Sustainable Marine Mammal Actions in Recreation & Tourism accreditation.

Income from aircraft landings, ski areas, tourism occupations, and guiding grew significantly.

New Zealanders remain largely satisfied with Department of Conservation major heritage and landscape attractions, despite concerns over the impact of increasing international visitor numbers, according to the department’s 2019 annual report.

Operators Grant Webster, Verity Webber, Kauahi Ngapora, and Dr Gerry McSweeney will help decide how funds from the visitor levy will be deployed.

The Department of Conservation, in partnership with Auckland Tourism Events and Economic Development, has launched what it says is a “world first” nature app that incorporates Te Reo Māori, Chinese and English translations.

Operators planning products in some national parks may have a long wait ahead following a new order from the conservation minister.