Proposed Cycleway In Nz

[Din]

I had visited this valley and this river several times when I was in NZ.

 

It would be a shame to see this cycleway go ahead as planned as it could very well hurt the fishing and the overall experience. If you ever dream of heading to NZ or have been, consider submitting a complaint. Perhaps more foreign anglers who speak up the better.

 

More info here: http://www.flyshop.co.nz/cgi-bin/forum/iko...amp;#entry38449

 

Online Submission Form: http://www.southlanddc.govt.nz/have-your-say-submission-form

 

Submission deadline is Sept 23rd NZ, so you only have one more day to get them in.

[hopdrop]

Nice find. Submission sent.

[Guest 420FLYFISHIN]

i think a cycle path would be a great idea. the country side is not jsut for fly fishermen and guide shops. I would love to bike my way into the hills and fish for some monsters

[reevesr1]

Interesting issue. Not sure what side I would come down on.

[Guest 420FLYFISHIN]

thats my prob, this seems more like guide shops trying to keep people out of "their" areas. its not a distruction of water ways like a weir or a dam

[DaveJensen]

420 - While the surface appearance of cycling for trout and fly fishing doesn't rule the wilderness looks reasonable, clearly you don't appreciate the reality of the fishery, the current state of the valley, how fisheries mgmt has been set up, the existing roads and routes that already exist for other users. The Oreti is likely the world's best river for avg size browns. With that comes low populations and high angler use, which is now managed on the honor system of parking in beat designated parking stalls to ensure people play fairly. Some don't but by & large it has gone well. There are roads and routes in existence that would access the same wilderness without being built beside the river. This has nothing to do with the guides, it has everything to check into reality - that the fishery can't sustain more use. Further, there is another river that we fish often that just had a cycle route built last year and unforseen uses that previously didn't exist suddenly popped up - things like horse teams and wagons using the cycle route. Now, groups of 15 - 20 people openly camp anywhere and use the fishery at will. With 10 fish per km in many instances, it doesn't take long for a river to be fished clean due to the new use. There's far more to think about as well, with the spread of didymo and other invasives to consider. Then there is the whole concept of what do you want your New Zealand to look like in 20, 50, 100 years? Does opening a cycle path - which is to be built for commercial operations in B&Bs, cafes, etc - does this drive NZ or does NZ finally say enough cow-towing to foreign users and realize what they have, what it's true value is, and begin to manage it based on what it is vs what some commercail interest can get? There are much bigger facets at play than just the concern of a cycle path - there are previously committed road routes along the west coast that if built for commercial purposes would change the face of the landscape. It's an interesting discussion and fascinating to watch, if only because not everyone is as keyed in to the long term, bigger picture, future ramification thinking over in NZ.