Header image: Dan Kitching, Valley of the Trolls

This month, FMC has been focused on the Conservation Amendment Bill, which we believe is the most significant threat to conservation law and outdoor recreation in 40 years.

Our executive team has been working on a submission and collaborating with outdoor recreation groups across the country to raise awareness of our concerns. On 26 June, following nearly 24,000 public submissions, Minister Potaka acknowledged public concern and committed to removing the land disposal provisions. We welcome that, but the changes do not go far enough.

The Bill still shifts DOC's role from protecting our wild places to enabling "economic use and development to the greatest extent practicable." It also strips key functions from the New Zealand Conservation Authority and Conservation Boards, concentrating decision-making power in ministerial hands.

For decades, the principle of the Conservation Act has been clear: conservation comes first. And conservation has always included recreational values — the tracks, rivers, and wild places that New Zealanders have enjoyed for generations. This Bill undermines that principle.

While we support aspects of the Bill such as streamlining concession processes, these could be implemented under existing legislation without opening public conservation land to commercial development.

Recreation group coalition 

We've also joined forces with leading recreation organisations across the country to call for the Bill’s core aspects to be redrafted. 

As well as us, the group includes the New Zealand Deerstalkers Association, Mountain Bike New Zealand, New Zealand Alpine Club, Whitewater New Zealand, the New Zealand Speleological Society, the New Zealand Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, New Zealand Canyoning and the Aotearoa Climbing Access Trust. 

Read the full media release via our website here. 

What you can do 

FMC is urging all members to make a submission on the Parliament website.

We also encourage members to write a letter to their local MP. Direct contact with your MP ensures your concerns are heard by the people closer to the decision-making. 

You can find more information on our website, link below.

Image: Robyn Wilson

Evangeline Bivvy: FMC has submitted on DOC's proposal to remove and gift the Evangeline Bivvy in Lake Sumner (Hora Kura) Forest Park to a third party following a 2023 landslide.

While not opposed to a shelter on the Te Ara Pataka Track, FMC is calling on DOC to reinstate local recreation user group meetings to ensure outdoor recreation groups are consulted on decisions like this. You can make your own submission before 9 July via the DOC website, here.

The National Conservation Policy Statement: DOC is consulting on the first National Conservation Policy Statement, which will replace the current policies directing how public conservation land is managed nationally. Although separate, it relates directly to the Conservation Bill Amendment. Submissions have been extended and now close on 10 August 2026 - we're working on FMC's submission. You can find out more on the DOC website.

Image: Graeme C

Applications are now open for FMC's Expedition Scholarships. We know that funding an outdoor adventure can be one of the biggest barriers to getting out there. So, these scholarships exist to help ease that barrier and encourage our members into the wild. 

The Youth Expedition Scholarships are open to adventurers under 30, offering up to $1,500 to help turn bold and imaginative expedition ideas into reality. A number of scholarships are available each year.

The Simon Bell Memorial Scholarship is open to members of any age and offers one annual $1,000 scholarship to explore lesser-known corners of our backcountry.

To be eligible, you must be a member of an FMC member club, associate organisation, or an FMC individual member. Applications close 15 September. 

The Expedition Scholarships are funded by the FMC Mountain & Forest Trust.

Image: Simone Blakie, recipient of a Simon Bell Memorial Scholarship, standing above Lake Quill on her 10-day Fiordland expedition (credit Sarah Valentine).

Read about her trip in Backcountry August 2025 (p52-57)

Our annual photo competition is back, and entries are open.  

We encourage our club members to hold a club photo competition. No better time than a cold winter evening to band together in front of the fire and flick through some pics! Or maybe you’d like to host one online. Either way, the winning images of your club's competition are eligible to be entered into the FMC competition. 

FMC individual supporters can also enter, with the top shots gaining entry to the overall competition as if they were a single club. 

Learn more about hosting a club competition evening on Wilderlife. 

Entries close 1 September 2026 for individual supporters and 15 September 2026 for clubs. Find out more and enter at fmc.org.nz. Any questions, contact photocomp@fmc.org.nz. 

The NZ Mountain Film & Book Festival National Tour kicks off on 1 August, bringing award-winning films celebrating adventure, mountain culture, the environment, and action sports to audiences across Aotearoa. 

A curated selection of films is available for local screenings, perfect for club nights, fundraisers, or community events.

Clubs can host screenings as fundraisers by paying a licence fee to NZMFF and organising a local venue, with ticket sales going back to the club. If there is no screening in your town yet, why not organise one? 

Schools and Scout groups can also take advantage of the free schools programme, proudly sponsored by FMC. Any school or Scout group in New Zealand can apply to screen a free 45-minute selection of films during school hours — a great way to inspire young minds with stories from the outdoors. 

For more information, visit the School Tour page on the FMC website or email programme@mountainfilm.nz to register. To host a club screening, head to the NZMFF website or get in touch directly.  

Images supplied by NZ Mountain Film Festival

Thank you to everyone who attended our AGM on Saturday, June 13. We had a great turnout from 22 clubs as well as individual supporters and one of our major funders, the Maerewhenua Trust.

Our next AGM will be online next April / May.

This August’s edition of Backcountry will be available digitally only, with no print run.

As members and supporters know, there’s an increasing cost to produce, print and distribute our flagship magazine.

The FMC Executive is looking at ways to use FMC’s resources more effectively. Backcountry is our single biggest expense; we are trying a digital-only version for this issue to help save costs this year and see how people find it.

We’ll take any feedback on board before we make any decisions about the future. At this stage, all future issues will be printed.

As an individual supporter, you'll find the August issue delivered straight to your inbox. Club members will receive the digital issue via email from their club. With club digital membership not too far away, we hope that all registered club members will also receive their digital Backcountry directly from us.

We appreciate your continued support of Backcountry, and we look forward to sharing another great issue with you.

In June, our monthly theme was focused on working with the wider community, including tangata whenua and all levels of government. 

This was reflected throughout the month, most notably in our collaboration with outdoor recreation groups across the country on a joint response to the Conservation Amendment Bill.

Next month, our theme is on fostering the skills and knowledge of our outdoor community, particularly among our young people. 

Image: Nola Collie

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)