Great Barrier Island residents have voted to try to stop plans to mine conservation land there.
The Government wants to lift protections on the island's Te Ahumata Plateau so it can mine for gold and silver.
Some 200 people turned out to a community board meeting - about a quarter of the population.
The board says the overwhelming majority were against mining, with about 25% supporting the move.
Resident and retired ecologist John Ogden says the island's only just recovering from having its resources exploited in the past.
"It's becoming a very beautiful and very interesting area from a biodiversity and scenic point of view, and it just seems sad to turn it back ... to a kind of major industrial site."
In a discussion paper, the Government rates the area's conservation value as medium and says it has excellent potential for gold and silver deposits.
The community board has until 4 May to prepare a formal submission opposing mining plans.
