Fish and Game Otago and Public Access New Zealand made submissions to the parliamentary select committee considering the Bill in Wellington earlier this month.
The Bill creates a commission to advise on and implement walking access policies.
Fish and Game Otago manager Niall Watson told the committee the Bill was the culmination of a comprehensive consultation process.
But the Bill was disappointing as it focused almost exclusively on walking access when the Cabinet's decisions contemplated something which was broader in focus, albeit with walking access as the dominant element.
In its present state, the Bill did not provide for the broad spectrum of outdoor recreational users, he said.
Anglers, hunters, cross-country skiers and rafters were just some of the outdoor enthusiasts who would get little or nothing from the present structure of the Bill.
Public access should cover more than walking access.
Walkways should not be imposed over unformed roads.
Unformed roads could be closed through a public process, with an appeal to the Environment Court available.
Mr Watson said unformed and partially formed legal roads were a vital component of present and future access.
Public Access New Zealand chairman Alan McMillan told the committee any suggestion a walkway could be imposed over an unformed legal road was a very serious matter, and could lead to the virtual privatisation of roads in favour of adjoining landowners.
He said applying a walkway over public conservation land would have little public benefit.
The Bill concentrated on walking access only and ignored other forms of access, he said.
He said in many respects the Bill was a major step forward but its shortcomings must be recognised and rectified before it passed into law.
The select committee is expected to report back to Parliament by the end of next month.
