This week's announcement that the 11 Doc conservancies would be reduced to six regions means there are 13 conservation boards without conservancies.
''How do you have a board without a conservancy?'' Otago Conservation Board chairwoman Associate Prof Abby Smith said.
Under the proposal, the southern part of Otago will be merged with Southland and the northern part merged with conservancies south of Christchurch.
While Doc's director-general has the power to change boundaries of conservancies, the Conservation Minister is responsible for conservation boards.
Conservation Minister Nick Smith said in question time in Parliament on Tuesday he intended to review the number of conservation boards to ''see how we can most effectively integrate that with the restructured department'' but not until the final decisions on the restructuring were made.
Prof Smith said while it was not clear how the changes, if implemented in their current form, would unfold, it was expected a ''serious adjustment'' would need to be made.
''That part has not been explained yet.''
Of most concern was that the Southland, Otago and Canterbury conservation boards were due to release their conservation management strategies, 10-year plans governing conservation in their regions, in the next few months.
The boards had spent much time developing these plans, but the change in regional boundaries and loss of staff could affect those plans, she said.
''What we have asked might not be possible in a leaner, meaner Department of Conservation.''
She worried the continued restructuring of Doc could mean it could no longer do the work for which it was intended.
Southland Conservation Board chairwoman Viv Shaw said the restructuring came as no surprise as the board had discussed concerns about mergers between Otago and Southland last year after both conservancies failed to have permanent conservators appointed.
She hoped there would be an opportunity for boards to play an even bigger role in the proposed restructuring, as they were the link to the community and had much local knowledge.
At its next meeting, the board would be looking at how it could work with Doc and what its role would be.
''There's a lot of uncertainty.''
Given the conservation management strategies were well overdue, she hoped they would be notified as planned.
''We are too far down the process.''
Conservation boards
• Provide for interaction between community and Doc.
• Are independent bodies.
• Established by Conservation Act 1987 and National Parks and Reserves Acts.
• Advise Doc and the New Zealand Conservation Authority.
• Oversee regions' conservation management strategies, 10-year plans.
• Publicly nominated members appointed by Conservation Minister.
