Hundreds of Southlanders have weighed in on how Toheroa could be protected

Environment Southland has sought community feedback on four options to reduce the impacts vehicles have on juvenile toheroa at Oreti Beach, just south of Invercargill.

Chairman, Nicol Horrell, says getting almost 750 responses has given councillors a good steer on discussions.

He says it reflects how important the topic is to the community.

The options presented to protect toheroa range from full vehicle exclusion - to partial restrictions.

Toheroa are found on only a handful of beaches around the country.