St James Conservation Area: Monitoring the response of visitors to the new recreational opportunities provided by the Department of Conservation Destination Management Framework and Nga Haerenga/National Cycleway Initiative.

The primary aim of this project is to monitor the behaviour of visitors to the St James Conservation Area, a recent 78,000 hectare addition to the conservation estate that was hitherto private land. Adopting the New Zealand Department of Conservation’s new Destination Management Framework, the inaugural St James Operational Management Plan provides for a uniquely broad mix of opportunities from across the recreation spectrum, including the construction of the first leg of the Nga Haerenga National Cycleway initiative.  This project extends for three years, and will track the ‘uptake’ of these new recreational opportunities by the New Zealand public and international visitors, and the commercial opportunities and conservation management challenges that emerge from this change in land use.