2020 media releases
View DOC media releases from 2020.

Bay of Plenty

Date: 22 December 2020
New interpretation panels give visitors an insight into how Tauwhare Pā at Ōhope may have been in the times of pre-settlers and re-visits the significant story of Mere Aira.

Date: 09 December 2020
Two popular campgrounds near to Rotorua now require online booking prior to arrival. A change to help manage the effects of increased domestic tourism this summer.

Date: 20 November 2020
Aongatete Forest Project (AFP), a conservation care group near Katikati, recently carried out an innovative restoration project to transplant indigenous shrubs that perch on trees.

Date: 06 October 2020
Spring is here and shorebirds like our northern NZ dotterels, banded dotterels and variable oystercatchers are starting to nest on our beaches.

Date: 24 September 2020
At dawn on Thursday October 1 an armada of watercraft is expected to descend on lakes Tarawera, Rotoiti and Okataina, marking the start of the trout fishing season.

Date: 15 September 2020
Source: Office of the Minister of Conservation
$19 million will be invested over four years in the Kaimai-Mamaku Ranges Forest Restoration Project with approximately 60 jobs expected to be created.

Date: 11 September 2020
Community groups in the Rotorua District have been awarded nearly $160,000 from DOC’s Community Fund, to help deliver conservation work such as tree planting and pest trapping.

Date: 11 September 2020
This year’s whitebait season has started with small amounts of whitebait caught in the eastern Bay of Plenty in the first few weeks.

Date: 02 September 2020
Encounters with seals are becoming more common for visitors to Eastern Bay of Plenty beaches as we move into spring.

Date: 02 September 2020
Debra Jager is setting up a trap library in Whakamarama with help of DOC's Community Fund. It will loan devices to remove pests and help birds, trees and wildlife in the area thrive.

Date: 12 August 2020
Land near Pongakawa in the Bay of Plenty has been transformed to give native plants a new home on Wharere Canal.

Date: 29 July 2020
Spending time in nature is referred to as good for the soul, so this Conservation Week breathe in the air of the sea, take in the views of natural landscapes in Eastern Bay of Plenty.

Date: 20 July 2020
An exhausted wandering albatross found on the beach in the Eastern Bay of Plenty has been returned to the wild after a week with Bird Rescue Whakatāne.

Date: 16 July 2020
Source: Office of the Minister of Conservation
Whenua/land, roto/lakes and awa/rivers in the central North Island will benefit from increased habitat protection with new biosecurity investment across iwi and Crown-managed lands and lakes, announced Conservation and Land Information Minister Eugenie Sage.

Date: 29 June 2020
Two key Eastern Bay of Plenty campsites will be re-opened in time for July school holidays.

Date: 22 May 2020
DOC is extending the closure of two campsites in the eastern area of the Bay of Plenty.

Date: 08 May 2020
Community-led conservation efforts achieved spectacular results with an 89% decrease in rats detected at one of the Bay of Plenty’s most important ecological locations.

Date: 27 February 2020
Seaweek is a time for all of us to get to know our ocean, its habitats, characteristics and inhabitants better.