Oparara burn-off cancelled

Press, 4 February 1984, Page 8

Oparara burn-off cancelled

The Forest Service announced yesterday that it will not proceed with a planned burn-off in the Oparara Valley. The assistant conservator at Nelson, Mr B. A. Collins, said that the Oparara Forest area will be selectively logged instead and then allowed to regenerate. Conservationists will be very happy with the announcement, especially those promoting the beauty of the valley and its outstanding scenic values. Instead of burning off the Oparara to make way for exotic species, the service wilk transfer this operation a

to the Lower Break Creek catchment, adjoining the western boundary of the N.W. Nelson State Forest Park, after planting of the already cleared land in the Oparara this winter. While in the initial stages radiata pine will make the main contribution to the exotic resource, trials with high-value species such as Tasmanian blackwood will be conducted so that progressively greater emphasis can be given to them. Planting of all exotic species will be concentrated in areas of suitable soils where original forest cover has either been

removed or very seriously depleted. Production forestry is seen as contributing to continued employment in Karamea. To achieve a sustained yield of indigenous logs after current sales expire in 1986, the volume extracted will have to be progressively reduced and employment maintained by more intensive processing of this high quality material, plus the management of a limited exotic resource, Mr Collins said. With the separation of exotic forest establishment from logging, extraction be modified to

encourage natural regeneration. Mr Collins hoped that the conservationists would be pleased with the development. “We are trying to take a broad approach and we are obliged to sustain the Karamea milling operation until exotics come on stream in 20 to 30 years time,” he said. The Forest Service will continue to maintain reading into the Oparara, which should assist any moves to develop the area as a tourist attraction, but there will be an access problem for it at Lower Break V