Deerstalkers and pig hunters who frequent the Te Urewera Ranges are being reassured they'll be allowed back in to hunt as soon as possible.
Hunters are currently banned from the ranges and the Department of Conservation is no longer issuing permits.
The Te Urewera Board, a Crown-Tuhoe partnership, has authority over the area and is working through the legalities of issuing hunting permits.
Deerstalkers' Association spokesman Alec McIver says it's never been the intention of Tuhoe to keep hunters out.
"So it's just administration problem at the moment and with the change from Department of Conservation over to the Tuhoe trust .
"But I can assure hunters they will definitely have permitting and access into Te Urewera for hunting in the future."
The Deerstalkers' Association is hoping to get hunting permits reissued for the Te Urewera ranges in time for Christmas.
"People would like to shoot a couple of deer for their Christmas barbeques etcetera, so that's why we're trying to quicken the pace up and get these permits sorted, so that we can get it open for hunters leading up to Christmas."
