Department of Conservation considers restricting national park numbers during peak times

New Zealand’s Department of Conservation (DoC) is considering restricting the number of people who can enter popular national parks at peak times.

Even without international tourists, high numbers are visiting DoC managed parks. As reported by RadioNZ, in Tongariro National Park the number of hikers on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing reached 122,200 last summer.

Advising that DoC is exploring ways to make sure the numbers visiting national parks don't overwhelm facilities, New Zealand Conservation Minister, Kiri Allan told RadioNZ last week “this is an ongoing issue for us.

''We want to make sure we can preserve the values of these incredible places.''

Minister Allan said DoC is always working to strike the balance between the number of people using the parks, with preserving the integrity of the environment.

Specifically she advised that DoC is in discussions with iwi about a possible trial to cap of numbers entering Tongariro National Park.

She said she was confident the country's national parks are being looked after and maintained in an exceptional way by Te Papa Atawhai, DoC in conjunction with its various partners where that is appropriate, adding “we are pretty confident there is sufficient resourcing there to do a good job.”