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Press, 19 October 1978, Page 4

Conflicts between production or development and conservation often raise very big questions. For example, should thousands of hectares of forest be used for the production of timber or set aside in reserves?

But conflict can also arise over smaller, more intimate questions. Should the livelihood of an individual farmer be threatened to preserve the bush of a reserve? Two years ago, Mr A. R. Blackadder, who farms in the upper Maruia Valley, found himself caught up in such a conflict. The leases he held over river flats of the Maruia and Alfred Rivers were terminated by the Lands and Sun ey Department in Nelson — because, the department claimed, his cattle were damaging the bush.

Grazing leases on the margins of or within national parks have been terminated elsewhere through the years — at Arthur’s Pass, Mount Cook and, currently, at Mount Aspiring. These other cases have often involved hundreds of acres of grazing

leased by large runholders.

The Blackadder case involves less land, and a smaller farm, but with the future of the beech-forest-ed montane valleys centered on Maruia becoming a matter of public debate, the story of Mr Blackadder's troubles holding his farm together is an instructive one.

Blackadders pioneered the upper reaches of the Maruia Valley in the early 1900 s, long before there were roads in the valley, and have farmed land in the valley continuously. But this long association of the family with the area did not save lhe present owner from being given only two months notice to remove his stock and fences from the leased land.

Mr Blackadder had been using the flats to provide rough grazing, in conjunction with about 200 hectares of freehold land and a further 200 hectares of leasehold land not affected by the department’s decision.

The department decided to terminate the two leases after it had received reports from the Nature Conservation Council and from scientists of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research which declared that Mr Blackadder’s cattle were damaging the hush edge. The department feared that if there was no regeneration under the trees of the bush edge, the margin of the bush would retreat as the mature trees at the edge died. Most of

the land concerned lies within the Lewis Pass scenic reserve.

The alternative of fencing the grass flats off from the bush was not considered economic because long fences would have been necessary to enclose relatively small areas of grass.

The Blackadders were told in the letter in which they were advised that the leases were to be terminated, that a state of affairs considered acceptable in the past could not now be tolerated because of the public’s increased awareness of the need to protect ' the bush and river flats.

Eventually, to soften the blow of losing the grazing the department allowed the Blackadders to retain their lease over a 25-hec-tare block known as the Calf Paddock, even though on the block were silver beech trees supporting a colony of scarlet mistletoe.

The Blackadder family is not convinced that their cattle were damaging the bush as seriously as the scientists claimed. Much of the deterioration of the bush edge noted in 1975 and 1976 was, they believe, the result of exceptional floods in Easter 1974, rather than trampling and grazing by their cattle.

in 1974, the Maruia River rose to a record level, washed out the Maruia Valley road bridge and swept through the low-lying bush on the river banks.

The Blackadders seriously doubt that their cattle eat beech trees. What the cattle were definitely eating were the rank grasses on the river flats and these, no longer kept down by grazing animals, now pose a serious fire hazard. threatening the ,ush, the Blackadders be’ieve.

Although the Commis;ioner of Crown Lands in x’elson, Mr L. H. Russell, expressed the hope to Mr Blackadder that the final arrangements would enable the family to retain the farm’s carrying capacity, the farm now supports only about 200 sheep and 150 head of cattle where previously it supported 1000 sheep and 50 head of cattle.

Late last year, fearing that their other leases might be terminated, the Blackadders applied to the Lands and Survey Department to freehold their 200-hectare lease. They have a right to do this at any time under the Lands Act. Much of this block is still in bush, as is about half of their 200-hectare freehold block.

The department’s response to this application revived the Blackadders’ feelings that they are getting a raw deal. Six months after the application was lodged, the family was advised that the Land Settlement Board had approved the application and had set a purchase price of $2342, plus the value of the millable beech timber on the land.

This value was to be set by the Forest Service.

All timber growing on Crown leasehold land is owned by the Crown under the Land Act. although the lessee is permitted to use timber for farm development work. The value of the timber has proved to be the catch. The Forest Service has estimated tentatively that the timber on the land the Biackadders would like to freehold is worth $16,000.

There was another catch. Before the final value of the timber could be determined the Blackadders were told, a detailed appraisal was necessary, the cost of which was to be borne by the lessee. They were asked for $2OOO to pay for the appraisal.

This appraisal cost is not refundable if the Blackadders decide not to proceed with freeholding the land, but if they do go ahead, the payment will be deducted from the total purchase price of the land and timber on the property.

In requiring this detailed appraisal before setting a final purchase price for the leasehold land, the commissioner is fulfilling the requirements of the Land Act and the Land Regulations. He is also, properly, ensuring that leasehold land is not surrendered into private ownership without the public receiving an economic price for the bush which is still in public ownership, however long the

land may have been leased. The Blackadders are mainlv' interested in getting a secure title to the 100 acres of cleared land which is part of the leased area. They have accordingly suggested to the department that some way be found for them to freehold the farmland and surrender the area still in beech forest without having to pay appraisal costs.

The Commissioner of Crown Lands in Nelson. Mr Russell, has indicated that he is quite happy to consider the possibility of Mr Blackadder's surrendering the forested portions of his lease to meet the freehold price for the cleared areas, although he is not too sure at this stage of the relative values of the areas.

This would probably be the happiest solution to the problem, giving the Blackadders secure title to their farmland while leaving the trees either to be cut down by sawmillers or protected by conservationists.

Quite apart from Mr Blackadders difficulties, the question of what is to be done with the beech forests of the montane valleys of the Maruia district will figure prominently in the next round of controversy over the West Coast’s forests. The Government has already announced that it intends to promote the milling of beech on a significant scale, although without yet indicating which areas will be mil-

led. It is apparently also the Government’s intention to make most of the Maruia area a forest park. Some conservation groups will be fighting hard to have the area given greater protection as national park. The Native Forests Action Council has suggested that farming could continue on the Maruia Valley flats after a national par?, had been established in the area, but the Blackadder case suggests that here may be some adjustments necessary which might either hit individual farmers hard or require public spending to fence off bush edges in sensitive places.

Mr Russell has indicated that the department is not considering terminating further leases in the Maruia Valley, pointing out that the Blackadder case was unique in that a grazing tenancy was associated with a main scenic highway and with an area already used intensively for recreation.