Farm forestry

Press, 17 December 1984, Page 12

Farm forestry

Sir,—The 1981 forestry conference recommended greater-import-ance be placed on the role of the smaller' grower in increasing the „ nation’s forest estate. Some of this uLincrease should be devoted to iridiT igenous species. Removal of the

forestry encouragement grant scheme and its substitution by tax deductible expenditure favouring the big corporations will not help divert afforestation effort on to farms. There should be controls on the use of such tax credits for clearance of native forest, even if the Government will not otherwise intervene to prevent clearance on private land, as confirmed by Mr David Butcher at the recent beech forests seminar. Curt Gleason in his blueprint for intensive beech management (“New Zealand Journal of Forestry,” 1982) notes that “farm development is steadily reducing the extent of the most valuable and productive red and silver beech types.” The Government could help by providing incentives to farmers to plant or replant native forest. — Yours, etc., ERIC BENNETT. Wellington, December 14, 1984.