A backcountry base for conservation in the Rees Valley

A repurposed backcountry hut is helping Southern Lakes Sanctuary protect threatened species in the remote Rees Valley, with pro bono planning and landscape expertise from Boffa Miskell helping turn an historic structure into practical conservation infrastructure.

Protecting threatened species across the Southern Lakes requires sustained effort in some of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most remote and challenging landscapes. Southern Lakes Sanctuary brings together conservation organisations, landowners, iwi, businesses, funders and volunteers to protect native biodiversity across an approximately 850,000-hectare project area.

The organisation works alongside established conservation groups and the Department of Conservation (DOC), providing coordination, operational capacity, funding and technical capability to help its partners extend their impact. One of its priority areas is the Rees Valley, a biodiversity hotspot bounded by Mount Aspiring National Park and the Te Wāhipounamu – South West New Zealand UNESCO World Heritage Area. The wider project area supports 15 threatened species, including takahē, kea, rock wren and bats. 

Following the first release of takahē in February 2025, the Rees Valley is now home to New Zealand’s second-largest wild population. Ongoing predator control and monitoring, undertaken in collaboration with DOC, iwi and local high-country farmers, is helping establish a self-sustaining population. 

A recently installed trapper’s hut is making that work more efficient. Formerly the Liverpool Hut, the structure was built in 1953 by the Otago Section of the New Zealand Alpine Club. Gifted to Southern Lakes Sanctuary, it was transported to Queenstown, trucked to Glenorchy and then lifted by helicopter into the Rees Valley. The hut now provides equipment storage and year-round overnight accommodation for teams undertaking pest management, biodiversity monitoring and takahē-tracking work.

“The hut is fast becoming a cornerstone of our work in the Rees Valley,” says Paul Kavanagh, CEO of Southern Lakes Sanctuary. “It gives our teams a practical base for multi-day trapping and monitoring missions. By reducing repeated travel into and out of the valley, it enables teams to spend more time in the field while providing a warmer, safer and more comfortable place to rest, particularly during winter.” 

Boffa Miskell provided pro bono landscape planning advice, assessment and preparation of the resource consent application. Working with Southern Lakes Sanctuary and Rees Valley Station, the team identified a location that met operational needs while minimising visual effects, avoiding disruption to farming activities and remaining discreet from hikers and people using the valley’s four-wheel-drive tracks. A landscape assessment supported the resource consent application, which was obtained swiftly from the council and enabled the hut to be flown into position. 

“Boffa Miskell’s expertise was invaluable in helping us navigate the consent process and find a location that worked for our field teams while respecting the outstanding landscape values of the Rees Valley,” says Paul Kavanagh. “Their support helped make a practical conservation project possible.”  

The hut may be modest in scale, but it demonstrates the infrastructure and collaboration needed to sustain landscape-scale conservation. As Paul Kavanagh explains, “It takes people, partnerships, infrastructure and long-term commitment to protect threatened species across a landscape as large and challenging as the Southern Lakes.”