About stewardship land

Public conservation land is held under different categories to reflect the values present.

Categories of conservation land managed by DOC

Stewardship land is a holding status for unclassified public conservation land. It is managed by DOC under the Conservation Act 1987 to protect its natural and historic resources.

This includes land that came to DOC following its inception in 1987, land purchased by the Nature Heritage Fund, and land acquired through Tenure Review.

Many of these areas are home to threatened species and high-priority ecosystems.

Around 30% of conservation land was held in stewardship until 2025 – over 2.7 million hectares, or 9% of Aotearoa’s total land area.

Map of stewardship land across New Zealand

Reasons for reclassifying stewardship land

Reclassifying stewardship land ensures it can be managed appropriately. A clearly defined land classification provides clarity to users of the land, both recreational and commercial.

Land identified as having very low or no conservation value can be considered for disposal. This enables DOC to focus its resources where they have the most benefit to conservation.

The process of reclassifying stewardship land requires consideration of cultural, historic, natural and recreational values when assigning a new classification. It must also give effect to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.

Given the scale and complexity of the task, most stewardship land has not yet been reclassified.

The Reclassification Project

The Stewardship Land Reclassification Project was established in May 2021 to accelerate the reclassification process.

Media Release 28 May 2021: Government speeds up stewardship land reclassification

Independent National Panels were appointed to provide recommendations on revised land classifications for stewardship land in the Western South Island and Northern South Island regions.

A Ngāi Tahu-appointed Mana Whenua Panel was established to work alongside the National Panels for each region within the Ngāi Tahu takiwā.

Western South Island

The Western South Island National Panel and Mana Whenua Panel (the Panels) began their work in November 2021. The Panels spent five months assessing the values of stewardship land in the Western South Island region before preparing draft recommendations for the future reclassification of stewardship land.

The process included assessment of the ecological, cultural, historic, landscape and recreational values of each stewardship land area, and section 4 Conservation Act 1987 considerations.

After receiving recommendations from the Panels, the former Minister of Conservation publicly notified 576 intentions to reclassify 644,016 hectares of stewardship land in May 2022. This notification called for public submissions on the proposed land classifications.

To support the public submission process, DOC provided information on the proposed land classifications including the Panels' recommendations, maps, conservation value reports, landscape value reports and management planning reports.

Documents that support the reclassification of stewardship land

Decisions

The Minister of Conservation considered a summary of public submissions report alongside input from Treaty partners, relevant Conservation Boards, and the New Zealand Conservation Authority, before making binary yes/no decisions on the notified proposals. A decision to not proceed means that area will remain held in stewardship.

The Minister announced his decisions on 11 December 2025:

• Decisions on stewardship land delivered: Media release 11 December 2025
• Excel table setting out the Minister’s decisions (XLSX, 223K)
• Map displaying the Minister’s decisions once implemented (PDF, 1,156K)

Material underpinning the Minister’s decisions:

Stewardship land documents

Implementation progress – July 2026

Of the 576 decisions made by the Minister for Western South Island stewardship land, 377 require a change in land status.

The land status changes for 178 decisions have been published in the New Zealand Gazette as of July 2026. These include 121 new scenic reserves, recreation reserves, historic reserves, and local purpose reserves, and 57 additions to existing conservation parks and ecological areas.

DOC is in the process of updating our geospatial database to reflect these changes, so the new classifications may not yet show up in public maps.

Other areas require additional processes before the land status can be changed. DOC is working with the New Zealand Geographic Board regarding the naming of new conservation parks, ecological areas and wildlife management areas, and for reserves where a formal name will be applied, such as the Tarahanga e Toru Historic Reserve.
Areas with more complex requirements, such as surveying or investigation for potential disposal, will then be progressed.

Six areas have been referred to the New Zealand Conservation Authority (NZCA) to be considered for national park additions and this process is ongoing.

Judicial Review

In April 2026, Forest & Bird and the Environmental Defence Society filed a High Court application for judicial review regarding 99 of the Minister’s decisions. As this matter is before the courts DOC will not comment on the specifics of the proceedings, however, we are continuing to implement decisions that are not affected by the judicial review.