Urgent interim measures need to be taken to protect the endangered New Zealand sea lion population given the serious rate of decline in pup numbers in the Auckland Islands, scientists and conservationists say.
The Department of Conservation is planning to upset the stomachs of kea that scavenge for food from tourists - a move designed to save the birds' lives.
The plight of Otago's yellow-eyed penguins highlights the need for a greater understanding of the changes in ocean conditions, Department of Conservation director-general Lou Sanson says.
Smaills Beach is again open to dogs and vehicles, following the departure of a mother sea lion and her pup.
Smaills Beach is likely to be closed to dogs and vehicles from today, until a sea lion and its pup find a new home.
Conservation Minister Nick Smith's announcement called ''Battle for our Birds'' has been well received generally.
Nine areas in Otago and Southland will benefit from the Department of Conservation's ''Battle for our Birds'' 1080 programme.
What appears to be the deliberate shooting of five native birds near Alexandra has horrified a resident.
Police and Department of Conservation staff are investigating a fire which continues to burn on Motuariki Island in Lake Tekapo.
Three Department of Conservation staff spent much of yesterday attempting to establish a ''new line'' of track from Dredge Flat to just past Sandy Bluff on the Rees-Dart circuit after a massive landslip made the section impassable.
Department of Conservation staff will today continue planning a detour around the flooded parts of the Dart Valley Track following a landslip at Sandy Bluff, about 10km above Chinamans Bluff.
Dealing with enthusiastic, passionate people about protecting special features on their land is invigorating, Queen Elizabeth II National Trust's Coastal Otago representative Robin Thomas says.
A new emphasis on recreation within conservation boards is a concern, former Otago board chairman Emeritus Prof Alan Mark says.
Intervention by Department of Conservation staff has saved 17 of 26 royal northern albatross in the past year.
Forest and Bird Otago-Southland conservation officer Sue Maturin argues that pest control is not acceptable compensation for losing habitat to the proposed Fiordland monorail project.
The owner of a dog which chased a sea lion from the sand dunes on an Otago Peninsula beach to the sea has been granted diversion.
The Department of Conservation is interviewing a man in connection with a fire that burnt more than 100ha of forest and tussock land high up in the Mt Aspiring National Park.
The Department of Conservation's move to set up a group to find Otago's first marine reserves within two years is ''extremely concerning'', Otago Rock Lobster Industry Association executive officer Simon Gilmour says.
A national organisation representing the many community conservation trusts around the country is needed, Conservation Minister Nick Smith says.
The lack of acknowledgement of recreational deer hunting was one criticism made of the Department of Conservation's draft 2014-24 conservation management strategy when public submissions were heard in Wanaka last week.
