Forest & Bird conducted an investigation into regulations and enforcement of vehicle use on beaches across 52 councils after repeated incidences of wildlife death.
Over the past year, the organisation had recorded sea lions being harassed by vehicles while resting on beaches, a kororā little blue penguin run over at Tautuku Beach in the Caitlins and vehicles driving through Rototai Reserve in Golden Bay destroying nearly all pohowera banded dotterel nests.
The Dunedin City Council was the only district that received a perfect mark, qualifying as "protected".
Neighbouring Clutha received the "some protection" rating, having recently added a bylaw limiting vehicles between the tide lines, and Waitaki received a "no protection" rating.
Forest & Bird Southland-Otago regional manager Chelsea McGaw believed Dunedin was an exemplar for the rest of the country’s councils.
Mrs McGaw said the council and Department of Conservation’s jointly funded summer rangers were unique, with no other similar programmes operating in New Zealand.
The rangers conducted twice-daily patrols of reserves and beaches between November and April each year and issued warnings to any vehicle owners found committing offences.
"Councils need to be consistent between each other.
"Wildlife can’t see the arbitrary lines where protection starts and ends for them."
Summer Ranger Giverny Forbes said she had had to warn the drivers of three vehicles not to go on the beach since she started the job in late October.
"We also check for tyre tracks on the beach to monitor the amount of people driving, but when we speak to people, it’s always about educating them first."
Forest & Bird recommended the least councils could do was establish bylaws limiting the use of vehicles on the beach.
