Mj8
OIAD-833
25 May 2021
Brian Warburton
[FYI request #15285 email]
Tēnā koe Brian
Thank you for your Official Information Act request to the Department of Conservation,
received on 27 April 2021 in which you asked for information on locations on the
“conservation estate” with bookable huts or campsites that are lawfully accessible by
mountain bike, both those with an electric motor and those without.
Your questions and our responses are listed below:
1. How many locations within the ‘conservation estate’ are recorded by DoC as having
‘booking huts’ and/or ‘bookable camp-sites’.
Response: There are 214 huts and campsites on public conservation land that are
bookable. Each bookable hut and campsite can be regarded as a separate location.
2. Of those locations recorded by DoC has having ‘booking huts’ and/or ‘bookable
campsites’, which (and how many) are lawfully accessible by using a ‘mountain bike’
that is not fitted with an electric motor.
Response: There are 98 of the 214 locations that have a bookable hut or campsite
that are lawfully accessible using a mountain bike that is not fitted with an electric
motor. These are listed in the attached spreadsheet (DOC-6651313). Of these, 4 are
backcountry huts, 75 are campsites accessible by road and 19 are Great Walk huts
and campsites (those on the Heaphy and Paparoa tracks).
3. Of those locations recorded by DoC has having ‘booking huts’ and/or ‘bookable
campsites’, which (and how many) are lawfully accessible by using a ‘mountain bike
with electric motor’.
Response: There are 77 of the 98 locations listed in 2 above that are lawfully
accessible by using a ‘mountain bike with an electric motor’. These are the huts and
campsites
not highlighted in the spreadsheet referred to in 2 above. The two
backcountry huts are accessible by road or by tracks not on public conservation land.
Page 1 of 3
The 75 campsites listed are all accessible by road. Vehicles, including electric bikes,
can lawfully use roads.
4. If the number of locations in (2) is different from the number in (3), what is the reason
for this discrepancy.
Response: The two backcountry huts that are lawfully accessible by mountain bikes,
but not electric bikes, are on the West Coast. The Conservation General Policy
requires places where use of mountain bikes is allowed to be set out in the
conservation management strategy for the area. The 2010 West Coast Conservation
Management Strategy was approved following extensive public consultation. Tracks
leading to Kirwans and Big River huts are listed in the strategy as ones that can be
used by those with mountain bikes but not bikes with electric motors.
The other two places where mountain bikes are permitted but electric bikes are not
are the Heaphy and Paparoa tracks. Both are Great Walks through what is
predominantly national park. The national park management plans for Kahurangi and
Paparoa national parks were each partially reviewed over recent years to specifically
permit mountain bikes on these two tracks over the whole year (Paparoa) or part of
the year (Heaphy). These reviews were carried out with wide public consultation. The
review process concluded that electric bikes should not be permitted on either track.
5. If the number of locations in (2) is more than the number in (3), does DoC believe this
could be construed as being discriminatory against persons who (for physical
reasons) are unable to access certain locations without using a motorised mountain
bike.
Response: No
6. If the answer to (5) is no, please provide an explanation why the DoC holds this view.
Response: The process for determining where, on public conservation land, mountain
bikes and electric bikes can be used is a statutory one. They, along with other
vehicles, can access places off-road only where a conservation management strategy
and (in the case of national parks) a national park management plan permits it. The
statutory processes followed on the West Coast, the development of the 2010
conservation management strategy and the more recent partial reviews of the
Kahurangi and Paparoa national park management plans, determined that electric
bikes were not permitted off-road in these places.
The West Coast Conservation Management Strategy was approved by the NZ
Conservation Authority and the management plans by the Authority and the West
Coast Conservation Board as well. The Authority and Board are independent of DOC
and are appointed by the Minister of Conservation. A wide range of views from the
public and all interested parties were taken into account before the Strategy and
plans were approved.
Page 2 of 3
Item
Date
Document description
Decision
6 May 2021
Bookable huts and campsites lawfully
Prepared for this
accessible by mountain bike – DOC-
response
6651313
Please note that this letter (with your personal details removed) and enclosed documents
may be published on the Department’s website.
If you wish to discuss this with the Department, please contact Brian Dobbie on 027 201
3721 or by email [email address].
Nāku noa, nā
Steve Taylor
Director Heritage and Visitors
Department of Conservation
Te Papa Atawhai
Page 3 of 3
