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Welcome to FMC's September newsletter.
In this edition, we cover off...

Header image: Hunter Smith, Aurora Australis amongst the highest peaks at Plateau Hut 
Register for Love Our Huts on 1 October! 

Pick a hut. Tramp in. Love it. Registrations for our third season of Love Our Huts open tomorrow (1 October) and hut loving officially begins on 1 November through to 30 April next year. 

Love Our Huts is FMC’s campaign that invites outdoor recreationists to give a backcountry hut a spring clean and health check to ensure they remain in good condition for future generations to enjoy. 

With the opening of registrations also comes the launch of our brand-new platform, www.loveourhuts.org.nz, your one-stop shop for all things Love Our Huts. You can use the interactive map to pick a hut to love, register, and report back all in the one place. Check out the website walkthrough video on our social channels.  

These huts are more than places to rest, they’re where we shelter from storms, share stories, and connect with the wild. They’re also a base for important conservation work. Our network of public huts is the envy of the world, so we care for it together. 

The campaign is a practical way for us, together, to show decision-makers that these places matter to communities all over Aotearoa. 

Love Our Huts is kindly supported by Tūpiki Trust and HutBagger. As a not-for-profit organisation, it is through the generosity of funders that FMC can run initiatives like Love Our Huts to protect the backcountry now and for the future. 

Note: The website will be accessible on 1 October. 

Image: Elisabeth Hynes

Register for Love Our Huts
Love Our Huts launch event

We'll be hosting an online launch event on 1 October to celebrate the start of the campaign on Thursday 1 October at 7pm!

Join Conservation Minister Tama Potaka, FMC President Allan Brent, FMC Vice President Liz Wightwick, and members of the Love Our Huts community as they share why New Zealand's backcountry huts matter and what's ahead for the new season! 

Whether you're a long-time hut bagger or just getting started, we'd love to see you there. You can register here. 

Background photo: Robyn Wilson

Register for launch event
Panel at Backcountry Trust Conference

Members of FMC's executive and staff team attended the Backcountry Trust (BCT) conference this month, and our very own FMC Vice President Liz Wightwick chaired a panel about Love Our Huts.

It was a great opportunity to talk about the positive difference the campaign has made so far to protect the backcountry hut network.

The repair and maintenance issues reported during Love Our Huts support the work of DOC and BCT and help both organisations plan for the future. It's an important community initiative where everyone is contributing to a low-cost, sustainable model.  

Image: Liz Wightwick
FMC supports MOU between DOC and BCT

Conservation Minister Tama Potaka announced a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Department of Conservation and Backcountry Trust this month, supporting the preservation of our backcountry huts and tracks.  

The MOU strengthens the relationship between DOC and Backcountry Trust and their work through the development of a national operational agreement. The agreement aims to ensure our backcountry hut and track network remains resilient and publicly accessible for future generations.  

As a founding member of Backcountry Trust, FMC is proud to support this step forward for backcountry preservation in New Zealand. We've also been working on the development of this MOU with DOC and Backcountry Trust for over a year to ensure a positive result for outdoor recreationists.  

DOC and the Backcountry Trust do an amazing job looking after our backcountry huts. FMC's Love Our Huts campaign strengthens that work by connecting volunteers with practical ways to help care for the network, ensuring more huts receive the care they need sooner.

Image: Glen Howey, Plateau Hut

Read the media release
Individual supporters photo competition winners

The individual supporters photo competition for 2026 is now wrapped up and winners and runners up have been picked! Their stunning photos have gone on to be judged in the main FMC club photo competition. 

The winners and runners up are: 

Above the bushline with a human element 

  • Winner: Jamie Mitchell, Sunrise on Sefton Peak 
  • Runner Up: Adam Gearing, Sunrise on Annette Plateau 

Above the bushline, no human element 

  • Winner: Hunter Smith, Abseiling into the Tasman Glacier 
  • Runner Up: Adam Gearing, Alpine Rewards 

Below the bushline with a human element 

  • Winner: Adam Gearing, The Depths 
  • Runner Up: Luke Carpenter, Nevis Bluff

Below the bushline, no human element 

  • Winner: Hunter Smith, Where two braided rivers meet 
  • Runner Up: Wendy Bown, What would the world be once bereft of wet and wildness (Gerald Manley Hopkins, Inversnaid) 

Historic 

  • Winner: Brian Haybittle, Above Syme Hutt Mt Taranaki circa 1930 Family Collection 
  • Runner Up: Diana Ward, Diana Ward Te Wairoa Hut Whirinaki early 80s 

Long exposure 

  • Winner: Hunter Smith, Aurora Australis amongst the highest peaks at Plateau Hut 
  • Runner Up: Brian Haybittle, Blue Hour Golden Bay 

Native flora, fauna and fungi 

  • Winner: John Skilton, Matata Fern bird at Okarito 
  • Runner Up: Anne Webber, Powelliphanta snail shell 

Hunter, Jamie, Adam and John received a copy of The High Pathways by Paul and Shelley Hersey. Hunter and Brian received a copy of Mountains to Climb: The Canterbury Mountaineering Club 1925–2025 edited by John Wilson. Hunter also won a Wilderness Magazine print and website subscription. 

Congratulations to you all! 

See all the photos on our Facebook
Other advocacy

Conservation Amendment Bill: FMC Vice President Liz Wightwick, NZDA CEO Gwyn Thurlow, and ACAT General Manager Edwin Sheppard met with Conservation Minister Hon Tama Potaka on behalf of ten recreation organisations. They had a further discussion about the Conservation Amendment Bill and offered FMC's and the other recreation organisations' assistance in redrafting the Bill.

We've followed this up with a letter to the Minister and are continuing to do everything we can to ensure the priorities and wishes of the outdoor recreation community are recognised in the new draft Bill.

Mokai Patea Range access: Public access to Mokai Patea Range has been an issue for many years and FMC always keeps an eye on it, advocating where and when we can. We recently learnt that DOC is considering surrendering an easement that would compromise practical public access.

Following this, we wrote to DOC's Deputy Director-General Regional Operations, Henry Weston, highlighting our concerns and suggesting alternative options that could be explored. We'll keep you updated when we know more.

NZ Conservation Authority and Boards: We're delighted that Conservation Minister Hon Tama Potaka once again, and upon FMC's nomination, appointed previous FMC Vice President and ex Executive member Mick Abbott to the NZ Conservation Authority. 

FMC liaises with many of the 15 NZ Conservation Boards across the motu. It helps keep us all informed so we can share knowledge, insight, and advice where we can. In September, FMC Executive member Nick McBride met with the Wellington Conservation Board and updated them on FMC's recent and current work, including in the Wellington region. Anyone can attend the 'public forum' element of Conservation Board meetings – find out more here.  

Lastly, a huge thank you to our executive members for all their hard mahi over the last couple of months. A special shout out to Raymond Ford for his contribution to our recent submissions, especially on the National Conservation Policy Statement, and to Tony Walton for his work on our digital membership project! 

Image: Shaun Barnett, Iron Peg

More advocacy here
 
Our funders

As always, our work is only possible with the support of our funders. Thank you for being on this journey with us, powering us to advocate for and protect an outdoor life worth living.

Youth award grants, expedition scholarships, training grants, Love Our Huts, submissions - it’s all possible thanks to you!

We’re all here for a common reason - we love our beautiful outdoors - and we’re hell-bent on keeping them that way.
 

“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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