DOC

The Department of Conservation is reminding visitors to the Mahaanui district in Otautahi/Christchurch to follow conservation laws. 

The Department of Conservation has finalised its Tahr Control Operational Plan for 2020/21 after meeting the Game Animal Council.

The country’s zoos, eco-sanctuaries, wildlife parks and rehabilitation facilities will share $9.6m to help them cope with the impacts of Covid-19.

Those breaking the conservation laws that protect natural places and native species may face fines as the Department of Conservation’s new enforcement system rolls out.

Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Mutunga has gained a $48,144 grant for a range of work in the Taramoukou Conservation Area in the northern Taranaki.    

July through to September were known as the ‘hauling out’ months for seals, with weaned pups coming ashore to rest, sometimes in what seem like unusual places.

This year’s Royal Cam toroa/albatross star has been named Atawhai, meaning ‘kindness’ or ‘care’, following record voters in the Name the Chick competition.

The money is from the Department of Conservation’s Community Fund/Pūtea Tautiaki Hapori.

The Department of Conservation has released its new Tahr Control Operational Plan for 2020/2021 after consultation with stakeholders.

DOC says the 15,000 people that visit each year all have a role to play in keeping the island predator free.

DOC is asking Waikato boaties to give give marine mammals a wide berth after footage emerged of a vessel appearing to collide with a whale off the coast near Raglan.

The Department of Conservation is asking snowmobile enthusiasts to keep to designated areas in the Old Man Range/Kopuwai conservation area in Otago.

Bookings opened at 9.30am yesterday with 500 made in the first 5 minutes and more than 1000 after the 10-minute mark.

A new loop track and bridge has been opened at Hokitika Gorge, creating a one-hour walking experience.

Hunters seeking a trophy Himalayan tahr can now access new maps showing where mature bulls were seen during recent control operations, says the Department of Conservation.

New Zealanders are being encouraged to focus on the well-being benefits of spending time in nature during Conservation Week.

All Department of Conservation offices, visitors centres, huts, campsites and lodges in the Auckland region are closed under Covid-19 alert level 3.

The Department of Conservation and Ministry of Social Development’s conservation training programme for job seekers in Canterbury has been extended for three years.

Conservation estate attractions could suffer more damage, become inaccessible or disappear, says a new report.

The tracks were extensively damaged by an extreme weather event in February 2020.

The Department of Conservation is urging Kiwis to get out and explore nature for this year’s Conservation Week, which runs from 15 – 23 August.

The cleaning operation required the use of a helicopter and its crew, a septic tank truck and several DOC staff to empty more than 3.5 tonnes of waste.

DOC has launched this year’s competition to name the live-streamed toroa/northern royal albatross chick at Pukekura/Taiaroa Head.

The CMS needed to respond to changes in recreational use such as the increasing popularity of mountain biking.

About 450 hunters crowded the road from Lake Pukaki to Aoraki/Mt Cook to protest the Department of Conservation’s tahr cull.

Gannet Beach Adventures hits back at claims it is unsafe to use a DOC track to visit the area’s popular gannet colony.

DOC is urging visitors to Pureora Forest to report damage and suspicious behaviour after a shelter was targeted by vandals for a second time.

The Department of Conservation and Hastings District Council will reopen the Cape Kidnappers/Te Kauae-a-Māui track later this year, allowing walkers to access the track at their own risk.

A section of track at the Fairbrother Loop in Ōhope Scenic Reserve has been made impassable due to a washout, meaning visitors will no longer have a loop option while repairs are made over the next few weeks.

Hunting operators have welcomed a High Court ruling instructing the Department of Conservation to undertake further consultation on its 2020-2021 tahr culling plans.

Two Queenstown kiwi have been released into the wild of Whirinaki Te Pua-a-Tāne Conservation Park south of Rotorua.

The Department of Conservation has rebuilt a hut at Lake Daniell in the Maruia Valley on the West Coast.

Hunting operators have thrown their weight behind a Tahr Foundation campaign which will see the Department of Conservation’s new tahr-culling operation challenged in the High Court this week.

Tourism businesses and rural communities will be undermined by DOC’s new tahr cull, according to ACT’s firearms and outdoors spokesperson Nicole McKee.

Matata Campground and Whirinaki Recreation Camp both needed upgrades and safety work undertaken and had extended closures after the Covid-19 lockdown while the work was done.

The measure will help save operators $25m in concession, management and monitoring fees.

The Department of Conservation’s new booking system for conservation hut and campsites goes live tomorrow, Thursday 25 June.

Ngāi Tahu Tourism, the Department of Conservation and Totally Tourism’s The Helicopter Line have teamed up to re-open Franz Josef Glacier guided hikes at the start of next month.

New Zealand’s Great Walks have attracted a record number of bookings with a 36% increase in overall reservations, says the Department of Conservation.

Ruapehu Alpine Lifts aims to limit ski field numbers to 4500 a day at Whakapapa and 3700 at Turoa, says RAL chief executive Jono Dean.

The first section of the Mangorei Track, part of the Taranaki Crossing Project, has been completed.

Hundreds of people are already ‘working for nature’ as part of the Government’s investment in job redeployment for those affected by the Covid-19 downturn, says minister of conservation Eugenie Sage.

The Department of Conservation has today closed Wairēinga/Bridal Veil Falls, near Raglan, to enable contractors to safely control goats in the area.

Bookings for the Great Walks will open between 9 and 11 June, excluding Milford and Routeburn tracks which are still undergoing storm repairs.

Southern operators face further delays to national park project plans.

The Department of Conservation has lifted the capacity of its huts.

The Hakarimata Summit Track in the Waikato has reopened to the public.

Matata Campground and Whirinaki Recreation Camp in Eastern Bay of Plenty will remain closed until July 2020 to undertake upgrades and safety work

Work to improve safety and provide for the protection of the sensitive environment of the West Coast’s Ōpārara Basin is set to begin at alert level 2, says the Department of Conservation.

The Hakarimata Summit Track in the Waikato will remain closed under alert level 2, says the Department of Conservation.