The plan, which outlines what can be done in the 335,600ha national park straddling the Southern Alps between the Routeburn Track near Glenorchy and the Haast Highway, was approved at a recent Otago Conservation Board meeting.
Board chairwoman, Associate Prof Abby Smith, said the New Zealand Conservation Authority had given final approval and it was now in force.
"It's very exciting. It's taken a very long time and a lot of hard work."
Some of the delays were due to personnel changes in the Department of Conservation and resourcing.
It also took the enthusiasm and passion of three board members to drive it through Gary Nixon, Iris Scott and Chas Tanner, and the many people who contributed to the review through submissions and hearings, she said.
The new plan had updated the way the park was run and what activities could take place in it and what could not, as well as helping Doc manage the park effectively during the next 10 or so years, she said.
"It draws attention to the importance of protecting threatened wildlife like the rare Haast tokoeka (kiwi) on the Haast Range in South Westland and the native birds in the Dart and Routeburn valleys."
The plan allowed visitors to enjoy the park in many different ways, as the park had been zoned so there were places people could go to enjoy the remoteness and "natural quiet" as well as other places where helicopters could land.
While the heli-hunting issue was still being discussed at Government, Doc and Game Council level, the board had made it clear in the plan that it did not encourage it in the park. However, the plan had been worded to reflect the decisions made by the Government.
The opening of conservation parks Oteake and Hawea nearby allowed a range of activities in the area, so the plan could still be faithful to the "notion of what a national park is for", she said.
Mt Aspiring National Park
• Established in 1964.
• The country's third-largest national park at 355,643ha.
• Part of Te Wahipounamu - Southwest New Zealand World Heritage Area.
• Mt Aspiring was first climbed in 1909 by Major Bernard Head.
• 59 bird species have been recorded - 45 native and 14 introduced.
• More than 400 species of moths and butterflies exist.
• The three largest of 100 glaciers in the region flank Mt Aspiring.
• Nearly all the landforms in the park have been formed by intense glaciation.
