Offroad-Express

As some of you know the Taranaki/Wanganui CMS is in the process of being written, public comment has been done and now DOC are running "focus group" meeting where they talk with interested groups. We are of course one of them.

I want you at this meeting. Bring to this meeting info/maps etc on any DOC estate that you use now, any that you know about and would like to use and any problems and issues you have with DOC.

The CMS is the plan for the use of DOC estate for the next 10 years, if 4WD is not in there, it is going to be very hard to change it going forward.

When & Where
DOCs head office in Wanganui at 1330 on Wednesday 3rd of September.

I attended this along with Bob (Moriarty) and Craig (Genie4x4). We had a very good chat with DOC about areas that we currently use and also possible new areas.

It was disappointing that no one from the Taranaki Clubs or the Wanganui club were present, as this will affect access

I have been asked what a CMS is and are they really important to 4wding. I thought i would reply publicly in this forum so everyone can understand.

Firstly what is a CMS.

Conservation management strategies are 10-year regional strategies that provide an overview of conservation issues and give direction for the management of public conservation land and waters, and species for which the Department of Conservation has responsibility.

Their purpose is to implement general policies and establish objectives for the integrated management of natural and historic resources, and for recreation, tourism, and any other conservation purposes.

Conservation management strategies are required under the Conservation Act 1987 and are developed in accordance with the legislation under which the Department operates.

Conservation management strategies are a guide for both managers and the public about what the Department intends to do, how it will set priorities about what has to be done and how it can respond to requests to use the natural and historic resources it manages.

If you would like to read the current CMS here is the link http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/MultiPageDocumentTOC.aspx?id=46230

Now people have also asked what area this CMS covers.
Here is a map



Its a huge area from Foxton to North of New Plymonth and inland to Waiouru. If you do 4wding in any part of that area this CMS will affect you on public land.

So lets look at the current CMS. Section 36 talks about Recreation. At present it reads like this,

Within the Conservancy, various outdoor recreation opportunities are available -
canoeing, rafting, skiing, walking, picnicking, tramping, hunting and climbing. They
can be carried out in a variety of settings: urban, rural, backcountry or remote areas.
Many recreation activities occur on land administered by the Department, particularly
in the two national parks. In recent years, the Department has experienced demand
for the provision of additional recreation activities such as mountain biking, horse
riding and paragliding.

Areas administered by the Department provide an opportunity for outdoor recreation
and the chance for people to experience and learn about natural and historic values.
For many, recreation on land administered by the Department provides their main link
with the natural environment. This link needs to be nurtured by providing
appropriate recreation opportunities and maintaining a quality visitor experience.

Various Acts influence the Department’s management of recreation. The
Conservation Act provides the main direction in focusing the Department’s activities
foremost on the conservation of natural and historic resources and enables recreation
to be fostered, while use for tourism may be allowed.

Visitors to areas administered by the Department may be local residents, travellers
from other parts of New Zealand or from overseas. They may visit areas on an
individual or private basis, as part of a school or club activity or as part of a commercial
tour. Managing recreation is a major part of the Conservancy’s work and absorbs
about a quarter of the annual budget.

From the first paragragh there is no reference to 4wding or powered vehicle access. This i believe is the first task we need DOC to amendin the new CMS. 4wding needs to be a Recognised recreational activity on public land.

Second is the need for DOC to Recognise our current 4wd areas and the work we do to maintain these. One i believe that is important is the old Whangamomona Road. Alot of clubs from around the North Island use this track. DOC Released the Draft Management Plan for the Whanganui National Park in July 2006, with some suprising additions to the National Park.

Here is a proposed map with the additions



You will see DOC is trying to include the old Whanga Rd in the National Park. Ok alot of people will say that is ok, but when you read further on i begin to worry.

Section 4.2.7 reads as follows;

General Policy 8.6 indicates that some types of vehicles and other forms of
transport may be permitted at identified places in national parks, but only
where specific allowance is made for them in park management plans, where
consistent with the outcomes planned for a place and where adverse effects on
national park values, including natural quiet, can be minimised.

The Act provides powers to make bylaws to prohibit vehicles from entering the
park and under Section 60 (2) failure to remove a vehicle from the park when
required to do so is an offence under the Act. General Policy 8.1(i) advocates
for unformed legal roads within the national parks to be closed and the land
incorporated into the park except where they are essential as legal access to
other lands.

In general, use of vehicles is not considered by the Department to be compatible
with maintaining Whanganui National Park in its natural state in accordance
with the National Parks Act.

Now the scary bit from my view

Powered vehicles on land

General Policy 8.6 (f) requires that powered vehicles should not be taken into
or used in national parks, except on roads formed and maintained for vehicle
use and on routes specifically approved for use by a specified type of powered
vehicle in a national park management plan. There are several unformed legal
roads within Whanganui National Park and for consistency of management it is
desirable that some of these, as shown in Appendix 6, be added to the national
park. These unformed legal roads are administered by the relevant district
councils but the Department can request that they be stopped and added to the
park where they do not provide access to other properties.

Any new roads in national parks require consent from the Minister. The
Department does not consider the creation of new formed roads within the
national park to be generally compatible with the preservation of natural values
and recreational outcomes identified in this plan. Issues specifically relating to
the old Mangapurua Road are considered above (see section 4.1.3.3)

I hope now you are seeing why the CMS is so important to us. A simple change by DOC of the National Park could stop us from going to a place most of us enjoy.

From here we need to identify areas that we use in the area above (check map for your local 4wd spots). Could you please PM me all the areas we current use. Im working on behalf of the Kiwi 4x4 Club (the ORE CLUB) and will present to DOC.

Any other questions just ask and Ill try and answer.

Good coverage of cms issues

Genie4x4 wrote:Good coverage of cms issues

Thanks Craig, Just hoping that people realise how important the CMS is

did the other taranaki clubs know about this meeting

coxsy wrote:did the other taranaki clubs know about this meeting

Yes Max Wheatly has been telling them for the last couple of months about yesterdays meeting

Well done Nick on raising the profile of the CMS process in your conservancy. Those old CMS documents are actually quite different in construction to what is planned for the revisions. The new ones are based on the DOC 2005 General Policy. The CMS structure that has been 'approved' by DOC is that of the BoP CMS, which has finished all its submissions stages. That CMS is very general and deliberately non-specific. The only specifics are when DOC determines a 'Place' which is a special interest region. Possibly you could suggest the area around Whangamomama as a 'Place'.
You are right to raise the issue of unformed roads, as the 2005 General Policy does recommend that such legal roads through DOC land be formally stopped.
The absolute vital thing is to ensure that any new CMS includes reference that 4x4 vehicles may be used for recreation within conservation department managed lands. In the north we have been emphasising that it is existing routes that we wish to utilise, not cutting completely new ones or just going across country. We want to maintain and enjoy the heritage of the old routes that already exist. That's a key statement in the DOC function definition...preserving NZ's heritage.

The Taranaki Wanganui conservancy is quite big and it will take some concerted effort to get all the potential 4x4 options identified, so that's another reason to push for the use of the words 'should' or 'may' allow 4x4 recreation. That will allow further work with DOC in future years so other access options can be explored and developed.

Peter i agree about the importance of those three little words.

Moving forward i want to make sure that we are included in the draft CMS due next year. I am working with DOC and they are emailing me maps soon with the current Park / Conservation / Reserve areas. We will be trying to identify new possible 4wd areas within the boundarys of this CMS.

It was good to have a meeting with DOC, but as i said earlier it was disappointing that no Taranaki or Wanganui clubs attended.

Just got the following email from the DOC woman in Wanganui re the CMS.

Hi Guys
As promised, please find attached 3 maps of the Wanganui Conservancy (use photo shop to open them).
There is a separate map for each of the 3 areas in our Conservancy. You will have to zoom in heaps to see the recreation reserves as many of them are really small (they are coloured pink). We were also unable to show the unformed legal roads on the map as it was way too cluttered and hard to read (even zoomed in). We have also over-layed the topographical map references so you can look up those maps for more detailed information, should you require it.

It would be great if you could have a look at the map, discuss with each other and then get back to me about any areas that you are particularly interested in for 4x4wd use. Once I have some areas that you are interested in I can talk to the relevant people and determine where opportunities might be and accommodate this use in the CMS 
I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards, Katy Newton

Included with the email is three large pic files (over 1mb each). DOC would like us to identify areas that we go 4wding and also new areas that perhaps we could use. If you are interested pm me and ill forward you the pics. Would like to do this by the end of Oct

Thanks

Nick Lawson
CZ Delegate / PRO
Kiwi 4x4 Club