We warmly invite you to register online for FMC's 90^th anniversary celebrations. The $40 fee includes a buffet dinner on the Saturday night.

We have also published a list of speakers (more to be confirmed soon) and information on the venue, food, accommodation, and planned outdoor activities on our website.

We look forward to seeing you there! 

If you didn’t see it on Facebook, take the time to check out FMC’s new mapping tool.

www.fmc.org.nz/wilderness-areas

For the first time ever, you can clearly view the boundaries of all the gazetted (official) and proposed wilderness areas on an interactive topographical map. Layers showing all national parks and other public conservation land are available, as are links to more information about each of the wilderness areas.

FMC has been leading the preservation of wilderness values for decades; most notably since our 1981 Wilderness conference. For the last 40 years, we've been determinedly advocating for the creation of these areas which we proposed at the conference. Each protects these areas in their original state, free from any human interference. And since 1981, we've steadily seen the gazettal of most of our original proposals.

Check out the boundaries, plan your trips, have your adventures, and make sure you have joined FMC so we can keep on playing the long game of advocating for an outdoor life worth living.

FMC welcomes the recent High Court judgment supporting FMC’s and Forest & Bird’s stance against the Department of Conservation’s and the New Zealand Conservation Authority’s positions on the derogation of the Paparoa National Park Management Plan from the West Coast Conservation Management Strategy, which sits above the park plan in the statutory hierarchy.

The Paparoa National Park Management Plan was approved by the Department of Conservation and by the New Zealand Conservation Authority and published in 2017. It allows for recreational aircraft landings within the National Park.

The West Coast CMS however states in clause 3.6.4.2 (Aircraft) that “Aircraft landings for recreational purposes are not permitted in Paparoa National Park”.

In 2019, FMC and Forest & Bird sought a judicial review of the Paparoa National Park Management Plan in the Wellington High Court, claiming that the management plan derogates from the West Coast CMS, and seeking strike-out of the management plan’s provisions allowing recreational landings.

FMC is delighted that the integrity of Aotearoa’s conservation statutory scheme has been upheld, and that Paparoa National Park will remain a rare place of natural quiet.

Read more on our website and in the news

Federated Mountain Clubs welcomes Acting Conservation Minister Ayesha Verrall’s 28 May 2021 announcement that the Government is accelerating the reclassification of stewardship land to ensure land with high conservation value is protected for future generations to enjoy.

“The Government intends to progress legislation to streamline, speed up and simplify the process so land with conservation value is identified and managed appropriately, while land with low or no conservation value can be considered for other uses.” It will also allow for more efficient public consultation.

Initially, two independent expert national panels are being established, with their initial focus being on the Northern South Island and Western South Island. At this stage it is anticipated it will take about eight months for each panel to undertake their work and provide recommendations. Further details on public consultation will be announced in due course.

While this is just the start of the process to honour stewardship land with the status and protection it deserves, and there may be pitfalls in passing legislation for “efficiency”, it is nonetheless an extremely pleasing start.

FMC will be following the process closely and ensure we are involved in order to obtain the best outcome for the protection of our stewardship land’s conservation and recreation values.

Read more

FMC recently submitted on the new car parking restrictions proposed for Whakapapa Village in Tongariro National Park. The outcome of the consultation is detailed in the map in the link below and makes the arrangements clear for summer and winter parking. FMC’s main concerns surrounded the requirement for people to attend the visitor centre in person for a permit for overnight parking (and full day parking during the winter).

We requested that a dedicated overnight and full day car park be put in place year-round. DOC have acknowledged that it would be ideal to have an online system, but have no immediate plans for putting this in place.

Note, this is a separate matter from the ski field carpark and road access during the winter. We’ll have an update on that soon.

Read more

Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) has announced in a press release that around 18,000 hectares will be added to public conservation land in the Mackenzie Basin after tenure review agreements were reached for The Grampians and Godley Peaks pastoral leases.
The preliminary proposals for both tenure reviews were published in 2015. FMC submitted on both proposals, and followed both tenure reviews closely.

FMC is pleased with the outcome of the Godley Peaks review, achieving most of the changes to the preliminary proposal we asked for. The resulting conservation area is larger than initially proposed, and access up the Godley and Cass rivers is provided for.

The outcome of The Grampians review is a mixed bag. On one hand, recreation is well served, with public access to Black Rocks and the high tops of the Grampians Range. On the other hand, unencumbered freehold redesignation of large tracts of the property puts this last relatively intact part of the McKenzie at risk of land use intensification.

The lease disposals haven’t happened yet; recreationists will have to wait until they’ve been effected before free access to the newly designated conservation areas will be available. It could be around three years before disposal occurs.

Read more

In May 2018, FMC submitted against the renewal of a grazing license by John Cowan on public conservation land in the Haast River. The land is adjacent to Mt Aspiring National Park, and cattle regularly stray into the park. In 2020, the Department of Conservation granted a concession for three years, with strict conditions including fencing and monitoring at Cowan’s cost.

The concessionaire asked for the fencing conditions to be reconsidered, saying they were impractical, raised animal welfare issues, and were economically unviable. As a result, the Department of Conservation has withdrawn the concession.

"The fencing provisions were fundamental to the initial decision to approve the application", said DOC Director General Lou Sanson. "Without fencing, grazing was inconsistent with the Conservation Act and other statutory planning documents that DOC must abide by."

FMC would like to thank the Department of Conservation for making the right decision and for upholding the Conservation Act. We believe there is no room for stock grazing in a national park.

Read a news article here

Upcycle your old topo maps into a coaster or placemat for the table with West Coasters, the newest company to join FMC's member benefits scheme. 

With more than 50 offers available to FMC Discount Card holders, (including 30% off the DOC annual hut pass) make sure you check out all the deals available!

http://www.fmc.org.nz/discount-card

The Backcountry Trust board recently resolved to move away from round based grants, to being open for applications at any time.

That means if you have a project in mind you can get started at any time talking with DOC or local BCT people. The Trustees will now consider these applications on a monthly basis to keep the flow of projects more consistent.

For more information head on over to the applications page on the BCT website.

FMC Mountain and Forest Trust is pleased to be supporting the Untamed Aotearoa Podcast in celebrating the outdoor community and wilderness areas of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Mark Sedon was part of a three-man team on The Spectre Expedition a few years ago, adding to New Zealand’s Antarctic legacy. He and two teammates used snow-kites to reach the most remote mountain on Earth – The Spectre, in the Gothic Mountains of Antarctica.

Listen to episode 10 of Untamed Aotearoa Podcast to get to know Mark and find out more about this epic journey here.