Paradise lost? FMC works hard to protect what matters to us all.  Photo (c) Laura Hopkins

FMC has 22,485 members represented through 96 member clubs and 19 schools across Aotearoa New Zealand, and almost 1,000 individual member supporters. Thanks to our awesome members for ongoing support, we couldn't do our work without you!

With a combination of rising operational costs, and growing pressure on the land we recreate on, we are increasingly busy here at FMC, working hard to protect access to public land, making sure it is not developed unwisely or seen purely as a profit-generating asset.

All our board members are volunteers, supported by a small number of staff. Our work greatly depends on your support. If you believe in the work that we do and would like to support us, please join us or make a donation to keep those hills as they are.

Members of the extended family participating in hut loving this summer. Photo (c) Jade Hackney. 

We've been impressed by the continuation of hut loving over the holidays. Some of you spent Christmas Day cleaning huts and tidying up the surroundings and continued with the efforts on your regular tramps, which is great to see. We encourage everyone to keep on doing the hut TLC during the summer.

We understand the reporting has not been as enjoyable for many of you as the cleaning and we are really appreciative of all of your and your families' efforts in sending the forms through and uploading photographs.

We're now at the stage of collating the forms and images and preparing all the gathered content for analysis.

Our next online Club kōrero will be on Wednesday 12th February at 7 pm.

This time, we will host an open discussion/workshop. We would love to talk about and hear your thoughts on DOC's current proposals on:

• charging for basic and bivvy huts,
• charging access to some public conservation land.

If you are keen to learn more and be part of the open discussion on the above, please email Sophie at eo@fmc.org.nz to register for this event.

Public conservation land should be accessible to all. Photo (c) Beccy Creswick. 

As part of DOC's Conservation Law reform, they are proposing to charge for access to some public conservation land and also change the way conservation land is managed. The deadline to have your say via submissions to DOC is 28 February 2025.

FMC attended DOC webinars on these proposals in January and is preparing submissions on behalf of our members. We're inviting everyone who would like to share their thoughts on the proposals to feed into our submission, to join us for our next Club kōrero on Wednesday, 12th February at 7 pm. Please email eo@fmc.org.nz to register your attendance.

If you haven't managed to attend the webinars, you can find more information about the proposals and how to make a submission on DOC's webpage.

Submissions are a huge part of FMC's ongoing work. They are a way of communicating with the government, DOC and policymakers on important issues relating to public conservation land, and how it is managed and accessed in the context of tourism and development pressures as well as climate change.

We take great care in studying the relevant documentation for each issue we submit and carefully draft our submissions, capturing multiple perspectives, views and options. This often takes a lot of time and energy and is done on volunteer hours, expertise and knowledge.

In January, we wrote a submission about the proposed Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill. Our submission focuses on areas related to the negative effects the Bill will have on the governance and management of public conservation lands. Our concern is the impact of the Bill on Section 4 of the Conservation Act, which directly relates to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and which we see, along with the New Zealand Conservation Authority, as the essential safeguards against centralised decision-making on conservation issues.

Advocating for wise management of conservation land is a core focus of FMC's work, which is why FMC finds this Bill concerning. We encourage our members to read our submission to familiarise themselves with its content.

The beginning of the year is a perfect time to look ahead, envision the future, and chart a clear path to get there.

Last year, the FMC Executive Board gathered to reflect on our goals and determine where our future focus should lie. While FMC Policies outline our positions on specific issues in detail, the Strategic Plan serves as a guiding framework to prioritise our work and ensures we remain on track.

The new FMC Strategic Plan 2025-27 focuses on six goals - read about them on our website.

Heavy social media exposure of wild places can lead to overuse. Photo (c) Jan Finlayson.

Tramping to the base of Mt Earnslaw has become increasingly popular. Camping is now prohibited at the site, which is in the Earnslaw Station Crown pastoral lease. Trampers may still walk the track, but should be aware it can take around 12 hours return. The first 8 ½ kilometres, from Lovers Leap Road, are in the Lower Dart Conservation Area, public conservation land. From the rock bivouac, the final 4 ½ kilometres are on the Earnslaw Burn Marginal Strip, bounded by the pastoral lease.

It's likely social media exposure of the Earnslaw Burn site contributed to its heavy visitation and consequently to the camping prohibition.

When sharing images of backcountry places and experiences online, it's worth leaving out location specifics if there's a chance the places they depict could be compromised by overuse.

'Synchronised balancing act' - a 2024 competition entry. Photo (c) Dee Keys, Pukekohe TC.

The winners of the 2024 FMC photo competition were announced in November's Backcountry. If you haven't had a chance to see the photos yet, you can find them on our website.

Each year, FMC provides slideshows of all the entries to our competition. You have the option of running the slideshow with captions or without. Many clubs enjoy an evening playing "guess the location" or simply having the photos playing in the background at the end of a meeting.

Graham has been heavily involved in negotiating access to some popular tramping spots at the top of the South Island. 

Kia ora

Since joining the FMC Executive Board, I have been involved in negotiating public access to some of the areas at the Top of the South Island.

Last year, I attended a meeting with the forestry company One Forty One and users of the Richmond Ranges to discuss closed access into the Ranges. The company opened most closed roads for the holiday season.

The roads are now closed again but the company has updated their website with weekends, when the roads will be open and when forestry harvesting is expected to be finished. This is a vast improvement on previous efforts but still falls short of what has been asked for. It was great to see the public taking advantage during the Christmas break and enjoying having access again. This highlights the importance of establishing a long-term solution to ensure consistent public access.

We're still waiting for the results of the One Forty One audit and the decision on our objection to the closure of Public Access Easements in Hira, owned by Ngāti Koata.

A big thanks to the continued support and enthusiasm from the Top of the South Tramping Clubs.

Best,

Pom

DOC are seeking nominations for suitably qualified people to join 14 of the 15 Conservation Boards across Aotearoa New Zealand.

Conservation boards are independent bodies, representing the public interest in conservation within their region.

With 44 public vacancies, this is a great opportunity to be part of local communities and tangata whenua which contribute to the management of regional conservation areas. The deadline for nominations is 31 January 2025.

Arthurs Pass can easily be reached by the TranzAlpine Train. Photo (c) Mary McKay.

Great Journeys are once again offering 15% discount on their train journeys for FMC supporters. Check out their offer and other discounts available with your FMC card.

Along with all other incorporated societies, FMC is required to create a Constitution that complies with the Incorporated Societies Act 2022, as part of our required re-registration.

Last year, we sent out an email to member clubs outlining the key changes between our current Rules and our proposed new Constitution. We are looking forward to seeking member club approval of our proposed new Constitution later this year, and we'll let you know when that is coming up.

For more information, including our current Rules and proposed new Constitution, please visit our webpage. If you have any queries, please email Sophie at eo@fmc.org.nz

If you are an FMC member (club, organisation, individual) and would like to know more about FMC’s work or feel that we may be able to support your club with something, please contact Sophie at eo@fmc.org.nz and we'll set up a time for a chat with you!

“We must closely guard the welfare of our National Parks and Reserves. These should not be regarded as the property of our minister or the government. They belong to the people of today and tomorrow. We must fight for their protection if necessary.” Fred Vosseler – Inaugural FMC President (1932)

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