Conservation park is a type of specially protected status for land held by the Crown in New Zealand for conservation purposes.[1] The status is set up under the Conservation Act 1987 and the parks are administered by the Department of Conservation (DoC).
As of September 2020[update], there were 54 conservation parks in New Zealand (including 36 forest parks), covering an area of 2,690,191 hectares.[2]
Forest parks have a less stringent level of protection than national parks and are used for a wide variety of recreational and commercial activities.[3]
Some forest parks have recently been renamed conservation parks, for instance, the former 'Whirinaki Forest Park' which became the Whirinaki Te Pua-a-Tāne Conservation Park in 2010.
There are 18 other conservation parks in New Zealand.[2]
The Sugar Loaf Islands Sanctuary is privately owned.
