NZGAC Hunter Education. Enabling better education and safer hunting practices.
NZ Hunter Education Course:
Module 12: Department of Conservation
The department was formed in 1987, as one of several reforms of the public service, when the Conservation Act 1987 was passed to integrate some functions of the Department of Lands and Survey, the Forest Service and the Wildlife Service. This Act also sets out the majority of the Department's responsibilities and roles.
As a consequence of the Conservation Act, all Crown land in New Zealand designated for conservation and protection became managed by the Department of Conservation. This is about 30% of New Zealand's land area or about 8 million hectares of native forests, tussock lands, alpine areas, wetlands, dune lands, estuaries, lakes and islands, national forests, maritime parks, marine reserves, nearly 4000 reserves, river margins, some coastline, and many offshore islands. All of the land under its control is protected for either conservation, ecological, scenic, scientific, historic or cultural reasons, and for recreation.
Providing for recreation is a major part of its core work, and this covers the management of family picnic sites, as well as maintaining rugged backcountry tracks and over 1000 accompanying backcountry huts that are used by hunters and recreational trampers. DOC also administers the Nature Heritage Fund, and is responsible for rural fire control.
In addition to its work managing land and providing for recreation in New Zealand, DOC works to preserve its natural heritage. This includes preservation of historic sites on public conservation land, saving native threatened species, managing threats like pests and weeds, environmental restoration, caring for marine life, and assisting landowners to effectively preserve natural heritage.
Over the years there have been issues between hunters and the Department of Conservation, partly because some hunters find it difficult to relate to Government departments and bureaucrats, partly because of Government policies and actions that hunters have found unacceptable, such as 1080 targeted at deer (and killing native birds), the seeming unnecessary destruction of huts and bridges, allowing unsporting practices such as trophy heli-‘hunting’ and partly because there has been an unwillingness to sit down and talk and compromise and hold to agreements made. However, while we can’t change the past, we can build a better future by making wise choices.
Times are changing hopefully and we are now entering a new era of co-operation with a greater willingness to work together. The Department now has a significant section on their web site to assist hunters, permits can now be obtained on-line and they have appointed a hunter liaison person which is great.