New Zealand Deerstalkers’ Association (NZDA) writes to you to express the Association’s opposition to the proposal for a Poteriteri Wilderness in Fiordland National Park. The proposal has been put forward by Federated Mountain Clubs – see FMC Bulletin, June 2008, pages 20-26.
This wilderness would include the whole of Lake Poteriteri and its watershed, and is further to the east towards public access points than the South West Cameron Remote Experience Area, another possible wilderness.
1 Background
There are already two gazetted wildernesses in Fiordland National Park, the only national park with two of them. There is no need for a third, given that much of the Park is rugged and relatively untracked enough to be “wilderness” off the tracks. Those who advocate for wilderness areas are a very small proportion of back-country users.
Today, for recreational hunting, and other tourist and outdoor recreation pursuits, time in the mountains is more valuable than in the past. Recreational users other than trampers reduce the “wasted time” of walking in by flying in. Also many hunters, as true hunter-gatherers, want to transport out the meat they harvest. Both of these requirements make air access for hunters highly desirable. Most hunters access the remoter parts of the Park will helicopter in for these two reasons.
The present Fiordland National Park Management Plan discusses wilderness in Sections 5.3.5 (pages 144-48) and remote experience zones in 5.3.6 (page 149 on). The South West Cameron Remote Experience zone is discussed in Section 5.3.6.5 (pages 160-61). The Plan proposes there should be public consultation on the merits of this Remote Experience zone becoming a wilderness.
2 Wilderness’s adverse impact on recreational hunting
Because of the usual need for air access for recreational hunters hunting in this remote area, as discussed above, NZDA opposes both a Poteriteri Wilderness (as proposed by FMC), and a Cameron Mountains Wilderness, as proposed in the Fiordland National Park Management Plan.
NZDA notes that the FMC proposal is significantly larger in the more accessible east than the proposed Cameron wilderness. It will exclude significantly more people from this area of the Park who are not the elite small group of wilderness trampers.
Recreational hunting is important in this area of the Park for deer management. Hunters usually use air (usually helicopter) access. It would be foolish and expensive for DOC to make the area a wilderness area, given that recreational hunting is probably the main recreational use of this part of the Park. Wilderness trampers can still believe it is a wilderness, with only occasional helicopter activities. The issue is helicopter and boat access. No-one is suggesting tracks or huts.
NZDA has 7,800 members, and over 50 branches. Regional branches near southern Fiordland include Western Southland (Tuatapere), Southland (Invercargill), Southern Lakes (Queenstown-Alexandra), Gore, Upper Clutha (Wanaka), South Otago (Balclutha), and Otago (Dunedin). All can hunt in southern Fiordland if it is accessible, as can many other local and national deerstalkers.
3 Large numbers of deerstalkers
A national survey carried out by noted Landcare Research’s deer ecologist Graham Nugent in
1988 showed there were some 60,000 active deerstalkers and pig hunters in New Zealand, (allowing for the 20% who claimed to be active, but who had not hunted in 1988). These numbers are likely to be similar today. Table 1 below shows the estimated numbers, based on a survey of firearms owners:
There are plenty of recreational hunters who could be attracted to southern Fiordland, if access was not too difficult.
4 Forming a Poteriteri Wilderness would add significant additional costs for DOC
If DOC formed a Poteriteri Wilderness, then recreational hunters hunting Lake Poteriteri and the Waitutu area out to the coast would be greatly reduced because of the. Their significant contribution in keeping deer and pig numbers in control would be lost, and DOC would become liable for the cost of wild animal control. As the area is mainly forested, WARO operators are not very effective there.
If this proposal was to go ahead and access other than on foot is denied, then DOC / FMC will have made a big mistake. The area will become a breeding ground for pigs and deer without recreational hunting pressure.
Unlike the Glaisnock Wilderness Area, this South Coast Area does not have the allure of Wapiti for the hunter. You can hunt Red Deer and Pigs in the rest of New Zealand.
Fewer hunters will use the area; Fewer animals will be shot; More for breeding; More damage will be done to vegetation; There will be a repeat of the 1960s and 70s when this area was devastated by over-browsing to the stage that full grown adult deer weighed between 35 and 55 kgs LIVE WEIGHT.
5 Lake Poteriteri should be outside any wilderness
Poteriteri, as a long narrow lake, provides motor boat access along the valley, something that is less expensive than helicopter access, and also landing sites for float planes. NZDA opposes the Lake being included in any future wilderness area.
For all of the above reasons NZDA opposes the proposed Poteriteri Wilderness, and the alternate Cameron Wilderness. NZDA wishes to be heard if hearings are held.
Yours truly
Dr Hugh Barr
National Advocate
© 2011 New Zealand Deerstalkers' Association