The Department of Conservation believes it had the legal go-ahead to enter and make changes to the Tailings Creek hut.
Doc Central Otago area manager Mike Tubbs said in July 2008 he was informed by Land Information New Zealand that after tenure review of the expired Mt Ida grazing licence, the land and improvements were to be managed by Doc, as public assets.
"The decision was made to return it to public conservation land. As Doc's responsibility in managing it, part of our job is to assess the work that needs to be done."
He confirmed the coal stove was removed.
When the syndicate members expressed their anger, Mr Tubbs said Doc agreed to stop any work for the season to allow the appeal to be heard.
"We think we are trying to be reasonable in what is a difficult situation," he said.
Many of the farmers were, and could be, neighbours of Doc, and Mr Tubbs said he wanted to be reasonable.
Any compensation for improvements was a Linz issue, he said.