Issues in use of beech forest examined

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32661, 17 July 1971, Page 13

Issues in use of beech forest examined

(By

KEN COATES)

With the Lake Manapouri controversy still fresh in their minds, officialse of the New Zealand Forest Service are doing their best to avoid a conservation “battle of the beeches.”

The . service has begun by taking the initiative. It arranged for a tour of native beech forest areas in Nelson and the West Coast for conservationists and nature lovers* representatives. ,

The Forest Service essentially sought to justify the cutting down of 450,000 acres of beech forest in the area, chipping the wood and sending it to Japan for papermaking. Since the tour, members of the Nature Conservation Council have, with some reservations, given their blessing to the scheme, by saying they are satisfied beech "can be managed as a renewable resource.”

But Mr Tom Hay, president of the Canterbury branch of the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society, who also made the tour—he and another society representative insisted on paying their own expenses —is opposed to the plan.

He says the basis of his society’s opposition is the planned replacement of some of the beech forest with exotic trees such as pines. The main argument runs this way: there is enough land in scrub or fem, or in indifferent pasture, in Nelson and Westland for all the exotic planting that is necessary without using any beech forest land for this purpose. And this is backed up by a conviction that ways can be found through research to harvest beech forest for pulp production without birdlife destruction involved in clearing and buring that precedes exotic planting. Interest in beech Why has the Forest Service become interested in beech forests? This is not a sudden, overnight interest. Nelson already has a plant exporting to Japan in the form of chips. Eventually it is hoped there will be a large integrated forest industries complex in Nelson, with not only sawmilling, but also pulp and and paper mills, based predominantly on the softwoodresources of Golden Downs and other Nelson forests. For years beech has been looked on as an inferior wood, about the only interest being from West Coast miners seeking pit-props.

It was difficult to saw into boards because of hidden defects, was hard to season and gave little return for the work involved in felling and milling. But as readily accessible softwood forests in the world dwindled, the pulp and paper industry began looking at hardwoods, which comprise half the world’s wood resources.

Within the last 10 years, the Japanese especially, because of their own shortage of softwoods, have become masters at the art of processing hardwoods. Hardwoods provide a pulp of short fibre length and are fundamentally weaker than softwoods which are of long fibre construction.

But they are capable of giving an extremely smooth surface to paper, and can be used for the manufacture of fine writing paper and paper for glossy magazines. Its high crushing strength makes it useful for corrugating paper. Subtle blending of softwood and hardwood pulps mean that many types of paper can be made today which were in the past made exclusively from softwoods. Service’s proposal It is no wonder then that envious eyes have been cast by New Zealand and overseas firms at the 3 million acres of beech forest in the South

Island, most of which is in State forest.

What exactly does the Forest Service propose? Broadly there are three areas in the South Island to be utilised —the Waimea County area in Nelson province, the West Coast and Southland. Of the 35,000 acres of beech possibly involved in the Nelson region it is envisaged that half will be naturally regenerated, and half will be converted to exotics.

The Forest Service sees the possibility of a pulp and paper industry on the West Coast utilising purely beech forests, with small areas of other native timber also being used, as a chance to revolutionise the economy of the area. And from an economic and social point of view, this would be more than welcome.

And in this part of the scheme, conversion of 150,000 acres of beech forest to exotics is envisaged. The Forest Service hopes that enough information will be available for the Government to invite proposals for the utilisation of the West Coast beech forests towards the end of this year, or early in 1972.

It also says that of the total area of beech forest in the Nelson and West Coast region, which amounts to 3 million acres, 450,000 is considered for utilisation. But of this only 186,000 would be permanently converted to exotics. This represents 6 per cent of beech forest in the region. Strong opposition Mr Hay, of the Forest and Bird Protection Society, who incidentally is a waterside worker at Lyttelton cheerfully dedicated to bush and wildlife preservation, is strongly opposed to the policy of replacing native forest with exotics. He maintains the New Zealand Forest Service is virtually a “department of exotic forestry,” with a slogan “convert the bush to pine” and this is what it is “lustily about.” And the society’s opposition is based on two main counts: one is that loss of beech forest means a loss of national character “who Wants an American imitation even if our Forest Service has more affinity with California?”—and loss of native birdlife which it is contended would not survive forest conversion.

As to why any of the beech forest should be replaced with exotics, the Forest Service maintains that there is just now a sufficient area to allow for an economic industry relying solely on regenerated beech forest. In other words Pinus radiata can be milled in 40 years, while a beech takes something like 140 years, and there is not sufficient beech for an on-going industry. I asked the Conservator of

Forests at Nelson (Mr P. W. Maplesden) just what guarantee there is that cutting of the beech will stay at the proposed level. The society sees a danger, once commercial demand is established, of a stepped-up milling programme.

He says a working plan would be prepared, renewable at 10-yearly intervals and this would mean an undertaking by the Government that a certain programme would be carried out. Fixed amounts As well, over-all conversion to exotics in the region would be only 6 per cent and would not rise above this level.

The conservator disagrees with the society over the amount of marginal land available for exotics. There just is not sufficient of this land available, he says. He says the service is limited also to land which will grow exotics well, when it comes to conversion of an area.

Mr Maplesden says he is aware that the prospect of utilisation of indigenous beech forest has caused alarm among some conservationists who have become dedicated to the total prevention of use of indigenous forests.

But he points to his department’s duty to control and manage State forest land for the production of timber and forest produce, for the protection of land through water conservation and soil stabilisation, and.for the balanced use of land for scientific, amenity and recreational purposes. The bulk of beech forests in Nelson and the West Coast, he adds, are in a decadent condition. But it is known that Beech will regenerate , readily given correct light and soil conditions.

In ■ other words, he says that the Forest Service can, through skilled management, make sure a new and vigorous forest is created which replaces a static or even declining forest. Mr Hay is critical of the stipulation involved ' in a decision not to exploit forests on slopes steeper than 26 degrees, or above 2500 ft in altitude. The idea is to leave all forest in this category for protection to meet soil and water conservation needs. The criticism is that the demarcation is too arbitrary, but Mr Maplesden says land contours will be taken into account, and local exceptions will be made where desirable. The conservator also makes it clear that areas required for scenic or recreational purposes will be reserved from clear-felling. Roadside reserves will be maintained, particularly alongside main highways and scenic routes such as the Maruia Valley. He says the reserves will range from broad vistas to small pockets of forest with particular attention to close rather than long-range views.

As to the size and shape of these. Mr Maplesden says the configuration and nature of the country will dictate this.

Biological reserves will also be set aside, he adds. Adequate habitats for native birds will be maintained, and a patchwork quilt pattern of native forest will be preserved solely to provide ecological diversity. Mr Maplesden concedes that it is not known whether any of the beech forests to be cut down contain any rare species of native birds, but he says if so, habitats will be protected.

Mr Hay, on the other hand, is cynical of the Forest Service’s plans for reserves. He describes amenity areas as “strips of untouched native forest to afford broad roadside avenues, or follow contour ridges to provide a ‘mock-up’ of a solid block of native bush from various road-viewing points.”

The Nature Conservation Council has expressed its concern that reserve areas may not be given permanence under law —in other words, that someone may change his mind and order a reserve to be cut down under economic pressure.

The council has also called for fuller investigation of areas planned for conversion to exotics. It wants such things as water retention and run-off re-checked in the light of changes that must be involved in conversion. The Forest and Bird Protection Society is concerned over the absence of control over private forest owners.

It says that assuming the beech industry flourishes, every private bush-clad farm within reach of the mill “would strip to the tune of a cash register” in the words of Mr Hay.

And it also urges a prior survey of flora and fauna before each felling operation, and realistic action subject to the Nature Conservation Council’s advice. Podocarp concern The chairman of the National Conservation Coun cil (Dr R. A. Falla) has expressed strong concern over podocarp forests being included in the scheme. (These include totara, white pine, rimu, matai and other native trees.)

“A policy which envisages their steady conversion to Pinus radiata is bound to become a conservation issue of some magnitude and public concern,” he said recently.

Whether the “battle of the beeches” develops into a fullscale conservation issue remains to be seen. But the situation remains that while conservationists would go along with utilisation of beech forests, with assurances of an effective regeneration programme, the main stumbling block is replacement with exotics of some of the forests, and what the Forest Service does with areas it plans to free for a lucrative industry.