Invercargill, 4^th May 2014

Federated Mountain Clubs, New Zealand Deerstalkers Association and Trail Fund signed a Heads of Agreement on Thursday, establishing a consortium that has submitted a substantial bid to the Community Conservation Partnership Fund. By bringing together our joint memberships, representing over 35,000 people, we were able to present a credible bid to manage bulk funding for volunteer maintenance and construction of back-country huts, tracks and facilities on behalf of all outdoor recreationalists.

It is important to note that the bid does not seek for volunteer effort to replace work that would otherwise be undertaken by DOC.

If successful, we will have made the first major game-change in outdoor recreation for a very long time.

DOC are collating and assessing bids to the fund. The Minister of Conservation makes the final decisions on awarding funds and an announcement is expected in late June.

For more information:

Robin McNeill

president@fmc.org.nz

(021) 516 366