Department of Conservation - Latest News [Page 8]
DNA Detects Threatened Flatheads
Tuesday, 18 April 2023, 9:51 am | Department of Conservation
Sophisticated DNA technology has detected a previously unknown population of critically threatened Clutha flathead galaxias in Central Otago’s Ōrau/Cardona River. “Central Otago is the proud home to numerous galaxiid species that are found nowhere else ... More >>
Rare Skinks Return To Southern Home
Friday, 14 April 2023, 11:39 am | Department of Conservation
Twenty-one Kapitia skinks relocated from Auckland Zoo to their home habitat on the West Coast earlier this week. <img src="https://img.scoop.co.nz/stories/images/2304/4b376456e6c8bb5b13e8.jpeg" width="720" height="540"> Skink on log The skinks, whose ... More >>
DOC Announces Price Changes For Accommodation Facilities
Friday, 14 April 2023, 11:12 am | Department of Conservation
The Department of Conservation (DOC) is updating accommodation prices for huts, lodges, some campsites, the West Coast’s Paparoa Track, and off-season rates for some Great Walk huts. The new prices will be applied for the 2023/24 booking year, ... More >>
No Pāua Fishing Allowed In Kaikōura Marine Reserve
Thursday, 13 April 2023, 12:18 pm | Department of Conservation
With the recreational pāua fishing season in Kaikōura opening this month, the Department of Conservation and Te Rūnanga o Kaikōura are reminding people taking pāua or any other fishing is not allowed inside Hikurangi Marine Reserve. DOC is ... More >>
‘Aere Ra’ To Rats On Cook Island Atoll
Tuesday, 4 April 2023, 1:34 pm | Department of Conservation
Rats on the Cook Islands’ Palmerston Atoll could be gone for good by year’s end, making a massive difference to the island’s community and biodiversity. At the request of the community, a full-scale rat eradication will take place mid-2023. ... More >>
Bringing Kiwi Back To Southern Ruahine
Thursday, 23 March 2023, 3:38 pm | Department of Conservation
A Manawatū-based Jobs for Nature project is restoring habitat in the Southern Ruahine to bring a North Island eastern brown kiwi population back to the area. Ruahine Kiwi work to support the restoration and maintenance of the Ruahine Ranges so that kiwi ... More >>
Dolphin Found Dead On Auckland Beach
Thursday, 23 March 2023, 3:27 pm | Department of Conservation
The body of a Māui or Hector’s dolphin has been found washed up on an Auckland beach. Yesterday a member of the public reported a dolphin carcass on Awhitu Peninsula, Auckland. The dolphin was collected by DOC staff yesterday evening, with local iwi ... More >>
DOC And Iwi Call For Information On Shot Tākapu
Tuesday, 14 March 2023, 9:59 am | Department of Conservation
The Department of Conservation and Taranaki iwi are asking for information after a native tākapu/Australasian gannet was found shot at Tuiraho (Stent Road), a popular surfing beach in Taranaki. The injured tākapu, a female, was found in mid-January ... More >>
Opportunities Are All Around To Connect With The Ocean This Seaweek
Friday, 3 March 2023, 11:20 am | Department of Conservation
Seaweek, Aotearoa New Zealand’s national week to celebrate the sea, begins tomorrow, March 4. The annual event is an opportunity for everyone to deepen their connection to the ocean and get involved in community events in their local ... More >>
Caution Needed Before Heading To Conservation Areas After Cyclone
Monday, 20 February 2023, 3:24 am | Department of Conservation
People are being urged to check tracks, huts and campsites are open before attempting to visit conservation land in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle. The cyclone has left a path of devastation across the North Island, significantly impacting thousands ... More >>
Landslip, Rockfall Risk Closes Cathedral Cove
Thursday, 9 February 2023, 2:52 pm | Department of Conservation
Iconic Coromandel visitor spot Cathedral Cove has been temporarily closed to the public due to an ongoing landslip and rockfall risk. Department of Conservation Coromandel Operations Manager Nick Kelly says a large landslip has occurred at the popular cove ... More >>
Eighteen Shore Plover Translocated To Waikawa Island
Wednesday, 8 February 2023, 1:07 pm | Department of Conservation
Eighteen juvenile tūturuatu/tchūriwat’/shore plover were translocated to Portland/Waikawa Island on Friday 20 January, where they joined around 80 other birds in the largest population of the species outside of the Chatham Islands. The birds were housed in ... More >>
DOC’s Coromandel Campsites And Huts Closed Amid Weather Emergency
Wednesday, 1 February 2023, 11:05 am | Department of Conservation
Department of Conservation huts and campsites across the Coromandel Peninsula have been closed to visitors amid warning-level weather forecasts and treacherous driving conditions. Coromandel has been significantly affected by the recent heavy rain across ... More >>
DOC Advice On Wildlife, Tracks And Facilities In Greater Auckland Region
Wednesday, 1 February 2023, 12:54 am | Department of Conservation
The Department of Conservation teams based in Auckland, the Hauraki Gulf Islands and Great Barrier Island have been responding to the extreme weather event and supporting local partners and agencies over the weekend. In the short term, DOC’s priority ... More >>
Whio Take Flight In Canterbury
Tuesday, 31 January 2023, 12:38 pm | Department of Conservation
Thirteen juvenile whio/blue duck are now riding river rapids in Arthur’s Pass National Park, after being helicoptered to their new home last week. <img src="https://img.scoop.co.nz/stories/images/2301/e1770e9a04542acb9387.jpeg" ... More >>
Seal Sightings Citizen Science Project Extended
Wednesday, 25 January 2023, 10:43 am | Department of Conservation
A “citizen science” project encouraging the public to report sightings of kekeno/NZ fur seals around the upper North Island has been extended into summer. Between 1 July and 22 November 2022, DOC conducted a public awareness campaign urging people ... More >>
Rāhui At Ōpoutere Beach
Friday, 20 January 2023, 11:46 am | Department of Conservation
A rāhui has been implemented over Ōpoutere Beach, the Wharekawa Harbour and Wharekawa River following a drowning, and a missing person search near the coastal settlement on Wednesday, 18 January. Kaumātua emphasise the rāhui places a restriction ... More >>
Protecting Nelson Lakes’ Alpine Lakes From ‘lake Snow’
Wednesday, 11 January 2023, 11:28 am | Department of Conservation
The Department of Conservation is asking visitors to Nelson Lakes National Park this summer to help to protect its pristine alpine lakes from an alga that causes mucus-like ‘lake snow’. The microscopic alga Lindavia that causes the sticky ... More >>
DOC And Dulux Partnership Brings A Splash Of Colour To Te Hāwere-a-Maki This Summer
Thursday, 22 December 2022, 12:27 pm | Department of Conservation
The toilet and changing block servicing Te Hāwere-a-Maki / Goat Island and the surrounding marine reserve has been given a new lease of life with bright murals of taonga species painted on its sides. Artist Erin Forsyth spent over a week painting ... More >>
Visitors Urged To Respect The Rules As DOC Reveals Enforcement Stats
Wednesday, 21 December 2022, 2:32 pm | Department of Conservation
Misbehaviour in marine reserves, breaches of the National Parks Act and people failing to abide by the Taupō Trout Fishery rules feature prominently among conservation offences, says DOC. As thousands of New Zealanders prepare for summer holidays, DOC ... More >>