Tongariro National Park Management revue due

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 241, 3 May 1988, Page 21 (Supplement)

Tongariro National Park Management revue due

Tongariro National Park's new management plan was to be released soon after Ruapehu '88 went to print. The plan will set out rules and regulations goveming park use. It will affect all users, from trampers and climbers to skiers as well as commercial operators such as skifields. The plan is a result of two year's work and two draft plans plus more than 80 submissions from affected parties including the ski fields and clubs with lodges at Whakapapa.

Last November a submissions hearing was held in Turangi where the Tongariro - Taupo National Parks and Reserves Board heard the submissions on the draft management plan that was released in July 1987. Both Turoa and Ruapehu Alpine Lifts, who operate the bulk of the Whakapapa ski field, recommended changes to the July draft plan that would allow for increases in the ski field's boundaries. Turoa also asked that heliskiing be allowed within the national park as well as the building of hotel

accomodation at Turoa. The present policy of the board is to not allow helicopters to land in the park except under special conditions such as the building of lifts, or rescue operations. Also, no new accomodation building could be undertaken within the park. The reasons for this ban include the belief that it would encourage development outside the park in places such as Ohakune and National Park, and it would stop the pressure on the natural environment within the park caused by human habitation.

Another submission heard in November called for the go ahead for projects such as a gondola for access to Whakapapa. The proposers suggested a gondola would relieve the pressure placed on the park by the increasing amount of traffic on the Bruce Road in the Ski season. A submission was heard questioning the draft management plan's exclusion of any new roads within the park boundaries. This group expressed interest in building a road from Horopito towards Ruapehu. Many Whakapapa ski clubs asked that they be

allowed to make improvements and extensions to their lodges which the plan would not allow. The draft management plan stated that the objectives and policies in it were substantially similar to the operative management plan in operation. The plan was in the hands of the National Parks and Reserves Authority and the Minister of Conservation, Helen Clark, at the time Ruapehu '88 went to print. The authority and the minister had the right to recommend changes to the plan before approving it.

When implimented the plan would be the first major review of the management of the park since it first came into being 100 years ago. The Tongariro - Taupo National Parks and Reserves Board is made up of ten members. They represent the Tuwharetoa people, Federated Mountain Clubs, local bodies and the general public. Public respresentatives are chosen by the Minister of Conservation from public nominees, while the Department of Conservation administers the Board.