Parks, forests ‘not up for grabs’

Press, 26 July 1986, Page 6

Parks, forests ‘not up for grabs’

No national park or forest park land will be “up for grabs” in spite of the Government’s free-market policies, says the recently appointed director-gen-eral of the Conservation Department, Mr Ken Piddington. The new department would administer and manage parks, reserves and publicly owned coastal areas, all of which were not tradable, he said. Tourism and logging interests would be taken carefully into account when management decisions were made. •

Balancing the interests of all users would be the

department’s main role when it started work on April 1 next. Achieving balance in areas such as the West Coast was particularly challenging because of the strength of feeling held by conflicting interests, said Mr Piddington. The department would be effective because of its scope and ability to manage land in an integrated way instead of in a spasmodic way, he said. While the department would respond to the demands of tourism, forestry and the use of coastal resources, the underlying principles of conservation

would affect all decisions and recommendations to the Ministry of the Environment. Wise and gentle use of land to preserve it for future generations was part of this, said Mr Piddington. “Perhaps the best use is the least use. for the longest possible time,” he said. Mr Piddington met local body representatives and planners about the department’s role in Canterbury on Thursday as part of a New Zealand tour to prepare for its introduction.