FOREST SANCTUARIES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 98, 27 April 1937, Page 6

FOREST SANCTUARIES.

WHO WILL GUARD THEM?

(By J.C.)

The gift to the nation of a forest area of great beauty and value on the western side of the Thames Gulf brings up the important question of the best method of protection and preservation. ]t has been the practice of successive Governments to place reserves sur'i as that so generously pi veil by Captain and Mrs. Humphreys-Davies under the care of local Iwidies. There are many cases in which eiich bodies have not used the best methods to ensure tlie safety of national properties. We have all watched the abuse and ruin of our volcanic hill cones, doubly valuable because of their ancient Maori fortifications. Sometimes, as at Sentry Hill, i" Taranaki. like our Owairaka Mountain, tlie Government itself has been the spoiler. But some local body ie too often to blame.

A notorious example is tlie Wellington water eupplv reserve, comprising tho most southern part of tilt- Tararua Range between the Ifutt \'alloy and Waikanac. A very large area of fowl country there was handed over to the Wellington City Council nn<l other bodies as a perpetual catchment area for the future uses of the city. But bMshfelling and saw mill in jr are going on there still, and the original character of the Irtish is heinz ruined. The water supply authorities are actually drawing royalties from the sale of timber' in a reserve that s-liould 1>«; rewarded as a sanctuary. The Egmont National Park is another area which should be looked after more carefully than it is at, present. Its. strict guardianship, the destruction of all destroying , animals and interference under the pretext of removing dead timber, or some similar excuse, is a matter of tho greatest concern to all Taranaki. Tho forest's existence means the very life of- the land; hut how many people there are in such districts who give no thought .to the future?

The proposed establishment of a forest conservation authority for the Dominion, an authority quite independent of the commercial forests authority, is very necessary. Such a body could take over the control and care of a great number of reserves scattered over the country. Forestry experts are not needed: too often they do harm by altering the original character and beauty of the indigenous forest by interplanting with exotics. But good rangers are needed, who will zealously guard the sanctuaries.

The scenic reserves branch of the Lands Department does excellent work, so far as its means of control go. but something more is wanted. A chief ranger is needed for each island, and a staff of local rangers, men-— and women—who are botanists and who are enthusiastic lovers of New Zealand's natural beaut v.