Many Reserves But Only One Park

Forest and Bird, Issue 292, 1 May 1999, Unnumbered Page

Many Reserves But Only One Park

The present reserve status of Stewart Island is an erratic tapestry of different land classifications, varying from scenic reserves to include nature reserves (more than half the island), considerable unclassified conservation land which nevertheless contains threatened and endangered species, and local purposes landing reserves. The estate includes ‘sites of special wildlife importance’ and ‘wetlands of ecological and representative importance. The conservation management strategy notes the island is of ‘national importance’ to conservation and in many instances its natural features are of ‘international importance’ further significant argument for national park status. Much of this land was inherited from the New Zealand Forest Service which ran the island as a largely protected area from 1903 till the establishment of the Department of Conservation in 1987. The Nature Reserves were managed before then by the Department of Lands and Survey. A national park would combine this diversity into a single category of protection.

Deer and Deerstalking

Among the lobbies concerned about national park status on Stewart Island will be deerstalkers. Beyond one mainland herd in the Dart-Rees area, near Glenorchy on Lake Wakatipu, the island is the only place in New Zealand where white-tailed deer are found. Hunting is a popular recreation among islanders while others come over from the mainland, often setting up camps by the shore, complete with deepfreezers and generators. The Department of Conservation wants hunters to take greater care when camping and to clean up afterward. The ‘camps’ may be a hut or shanty made from driftwood, tree fern trunks, bits of tin and plastic sheeting, set up by hunters just inside the forest and close to their landing place from boat or airplane. With extended occupation, year after year, they can become rubbish dumps. Boat operators serving the island have recently agreed to a protection charter — among other disciplines, they now ask hunters not to bring dogs, motorcycles, refrigerators, or chainsaws for clearing camp sites, and to carry out their rubbish. While much hunting takes place on private land on the east coast, many hunters are allocated blocks on Crown land, booking sometimes a year in advance. Nevertheless, recreational hunting is not achieving any effective control over deer numbers. The annual cull of about 15 percent is soon replaced by births. The conservation management strategy calls for the eradication of deer, regardless of the status of the land.