Marlborough Deerstalkers

A reminder to all members of the social catch up this Thursday from 5pm at the Dodson Street Beer Garden

Our range day scheduled for today is cancelled due to the weather.

Sir Mark D nominating Bill O. A huge honor. Perfect choice.❤️

Well deserved.

So this happened over the weekend. Congratulations to Trev Dibben, new National President. Wayne Smith, South Island Rep. Russell Silcock for winning the 'Monarch of the Glen' award🦌. Jeremy Paterson-Green, winner of the Literary Award.👏👏👏👏

https://www.deerstalkers.org.nz/about-us/structure/our-people/national-executive?fbclid=IwdGRjcATWGKpjbGNrBNYYkXBkb2YBZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMzUwNjg1NTMxNzI4AAEeN9DIIje_3CEh3pD17mMFiytIHxPeh_V5EYn52HnFqItFWn3Hkx6rKAg0WMY_aem_YNZGfVXQZx9_pm3JCasgkg

National Board | NZDA 2026-27 National Board, photographed at the 78th Conference and AGM in Wellington. (Absent; Mark Hastie)

Club night this Thursday 23rd 7pm

We have a really interesting Club Night lined up for this Thursday 7pm at Redwood Tavern.

First presentation is from Ange van Der Laan from the Outdoor Access Commission. She will be presenting on access issues particularly relating to Marlborough. As you all know access to public conservation land can be problematic in Marlborough, especially when access is gained by crossing private land. I'm really interested to hear what Ange has to say, and how we can work around this problem.

There will also be an update on the Molesworth situation. This will also be of interest to many of you as there are potentially some significant changes happening in the Molesworth space.

Hope to see a good turn out of our members.

I'm sure many of our members will be interested in this session

Peta Carey Peta Carey is joining us for the 2026 Marlborough Book Festival.

This is great news.

Fiordland Wapiti are New Zealand’s first ever Herd of Special Interest, in what is a milestone day for hunter-led conservation.

This framework enables structured, hunter-led herd management within Fiordland National Park, while continuing to protect and enhance its treasured landscape.

It builds on the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation’s excellent long-standing work, which includes regular culling, management of the popular wapiti ballot, track and hut maintenance, and trapping to protect at-risk native species like whio/blue duck.

The Herd of Special Interest is a win-win for all. It will help manage deer numbers to sustainable herd levels, ensure hunters pull healthy animals off the public back country to put on the family dinner table, and better protect our biodiversity.

📸: With Roy Sloan (Fiordland Wapiti Foundation) at today’s announcement.

Join online, this Wednesday

This Wednesday at 6:45pm, we are pleased to host an open online webinar with the Hon James Meager, Minister for Hunting and Fishing, following the passage of the Herds of Special Interest (HOSI) legislation last week.

This is an opportunity for recreational hunters and the wider hunting community to hear directly from the Minister about the new HOSI framework, the Government's priorities for our special herds of Wapiti and Sika, and what these changes mean for the future management of New Zealand's first proposed HOSI herds.

The webinar will include updates from the recognised herd representatives and conclude with a moderated question and answer session.

Speakers

🦌 James Meager MP – Minister for Hunting and Fishing

🦌 Gwyn Thurlow – Chief Executive Officer & General Counsel, NZDA (Host & Moderator)

🦌 Roy Sloan – Fiordland Wapiti Foundation

🦌 Cam Speedy – Sika Foundation

Topics

💡 Overview of the new Herds of Special Interest framework

💡 What the legislation means for recreational hunters

💡 Progress on recognised herds

💡 Government hunting policy update

💡 Questions from participants

Timing

⌚ 6:45pm Lobby Opens

⌚ 7:00pm Start

⌚ 8:00pm Finish

This webinar is open to all members of the hunting community. Link to join ⬇️

Has anyone lost a spartan bipod up near the Black Birch bivvy? It has been picked up and retrieved.