PREVENTION OF EROSION

Press, Volume LXXXV, Issue 25834, 20 June 1949, Page 3

PREVENTION OF EROSION

MAPS DISTRIBUTED TO RUNHOLDERS AREAS FOR BURNING TO BE INDICATED Runholders with land in the South Canterbury Catchment Board’s area were now being given maps of their properties on which to mark the places where they wished to burn so that the board’s officers could inspect the locality and where possible grant permission, said, the pastoral liaison officer to the South Canterbury Catchment Board (Mr C. J. Kerr) at Timaru on Saturday. Duplicate maps were then filed at the board’s office to provide an accurate record of country burnt off, he said. To keep runholders in touch with the board’s policy for controlling soil erosion in back country and to obtain their help and co-operation, a number of group meetings had been held over the last three years enabling runholders to meet for discussion with the board’s officers, said Mr Kerr. It was the object of the board to obtain the opinions of runholders by means of a series of such group meetings, Mr Kerr said. Top-dressing and sowing from the air as a complement to burning had also been discussed at the meetings. There were 150 runholders in the area and 11 groups had been formed. Erosion Causes Rabbits, burning and overstocking were the three main causes of erosion with which the board could deal, but there were other indirect causes such as bad subdivision and excessive rentals. Rabbits went to the warm facings during the winter and helped to eat off vegetation to a dangerous degree, said Mr Kerr. The South Canterbury Catchment Board was working in conjunction with the Rabbit Destruction Council. Erosion was a national problem and a great deal could be done if the present co-opera-tion of runholders was retained.