High country land preserved for NZers
16 Oct 2008
New Zealand has boosted its park areas with the government purchase of a high country station that borders some of the best known national parks.
The 78,196 hectare property is near Hanmer Springs in the South Island region of North Canterbury. It is surrounded by the Lewis Pass National Reserve, Nelson Lakes National Park and the Molesworth Station conservation area.
Safeguarding the land
The Government paid NZ$40 million for the land to safeguard it for New Zealanders and avoid foreign ownership, says Prime Minister Helen Clark.
St James Station had been owned by the same family since 1927. The family will retain access to the property's homesteads.
Ms Clark says the purchase guarantees public access to the area and protects it from intensive farming and development. She describes the property as staggering in scale and in terms of its natural attributes.
The area will be open to the public from October 20.
Rare flora and fauna
The land encompasses three mountain ranges, the catchwaters of two major Canterbury rivers the Waiau and Clarence, 11 tramping routes, including the St James Walkway, and the Amuri skifield. It is home to several rare flora and bird species.
Some 430 indigenous species of flora have been identified on the property, and 30 native bird species have been sighted there.
Ms Clark says the station's rich historic heritage will also be protected, referring to old Maori access routes across the top of the South Island and several early European historic sites. She says bringing the land into public ownership will boost North Canterbury and in particular the Hanmer Springs area as a tourism destination.
New Zealand parkland
More than 30 percent of New Zealand is in public ownership and is protected for scenic, scientific, historic and cultural reasons - or set aside for recreational purposes.
The Department of Conservation administers the majority of the protected land, which covers more than 80,000km².
There are 14 national parks, 20 forest parks, about 3,500 reserves and 610km² of protected private land set aside for scenic, scientific or ecological reasons.
The department also has responsibility for the preservation and management of wildlife, and has a role in management of the coastal marine area with 19 marine reserves and two other protected marine areas from the Kermadec Islands to Fiordland in the South Island.
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