AFFORESTATION.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 242, 13 October 1925, Page 10

AFFORESTATION.

ASSISTANCE FOR PRIVATE ENTERPRISE.

Mr. L. M. Ellis, Director of Forestry, mentioned to a "Dominion" reporter that during the session of Parliament just closed very important legislation from an afforestation standpoint was enacted in the amendment to the Forest Act. Clause 5 of this amendment, dealing with the constitution of fire districts, should, he said, prove of great benefit to local bodies, private individuals, and proprietary companies, and to all those companies engaged in the business of growing trees for profit Hitherto the principle of fire districts could only be applied to State forests, but by section 5 :(1) This power was considerably widened. This section reads: "The power conferred on the Minister by section twenty-seven of the principal Act, to constitute any area not within a State forest as a fire district for the purpose of securing the safety of a State forest from damage by fire is hereby extended, and may be exercised to secure from damage by fire any trees, as defined toy the principal Act, on any private or other lands of an area not less than two hundred acres." The Director of Forestry stated that the application of the fire district provisions to the State forests had been wonderfully effective in preventing damage to standing timber by the lighting of fires nearby, and it was felt by the Government that an extension of these provisions to other than- State lands would be of invaluable assistance in the direction of stimulating private planting and safeguarding valuable growing forests.