Fifty five appointments to 15 conservation boards across New Zealand were announced yesterday by the Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage. 

This includes one new appointment and three reappointments for the Southland Conservation Board.

Chantelle Subritzky, of Invercargill, has been newly appointed to the Southland board.

Miss Subritzky is the corporate performance lead for the Southland District Council. She has a Master’s degree Politics and a career in local and central government, strategic planning, policy development and communications. 

She is a keen outdoor enthusiast and enjoys heading out to explore the bush, rivers, lakes and mountains of Southland. 

The three re-appointments for the board include Stewart Bull, of Invercargill; Bill Watt, of Stewart Island; and John Whitehead, of Te Anau, who is the current chairman of the board. 

Ms Sage said conservation boards had a critical role in influencing how public conservation lands and waters were managed, serving a a "key link" between the Department of Conservation and the community.

“In any one year, conservation boards are involved in a range of activities. That can including finalising the content of management plans, commenting on major commercial concession applications, and influencing the department’s spending priorities."

The Southland Conservation Boards's area of interest includes large forested mountainous areas such as Waitutu, Takitimu, Eyre and Blue Mountains and the Longwoods; diverse coastlines, large open vistas and important estuaries; and scattered forest, wetland and grassland remnants - areas such as Curio Bay and the Waituna Wetlands included.

Conservation board appointments took effect from July 1.