Private road in National Park not fair

Changes to the Westland National Park Plan propose putting private roads
up the Fox and Franz Josef glacier valleys - so that while a tourism
company would be allowed to take vehicles beyond the carpark, the general
public -- even those on bike -- could not.

"The Government has given DoC a clear signal to support making money off
conservation land, but this is taking things too far. Putting a new
private road in a National Park is an affront to the very ethos of our
publicly-owned conservation land," says Lynley Hargreaves, spokesperson
for West Coast Environment Network.

Pressure from tourism operators has led the Department of Conservation to
consider extending the roads beyond the current car parks. "Four hundred
thousand people - including plenty of older folk and young children -
walk up to the end of the Franz Josef Glacier track each year. The
distance to walk hasn't changed significantly in more than a decade. If
you start running 4wd vehicles for a few paying customers next to the
walking track, that's going to ruin the experience for the majority of
people," says Ms Hargreaves.

The proposed changes also include a substantial increase in the number of
flights allowed over the valley, despite the fact that DoC's own
guidelines suggest aircraft "annoyance" thresholds have already been
exceeded.

"Fox and Franz Josef glaciers will continue to retreat in coming years,
due to climate change. We support the work DoC is currently undertaking to
extend the walking tracks to provide good glacier views."

West Coast Environment Network, along with other groups and individuals,
is submitting this week on the proposed changes to the West Coast National
Park Plan.

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