‘Needless logging’ by Grey County

Press, 12 March 1985, Page 6

‘Needless logging’ by Grey County

Greymouth reporter ' The Nature Conservation Council has condemned what it calls “needless logging” of a road reserve in the Victoria State Forest Park by the Grey County Council. The work has been criticised also by the regional field officer for the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society, Mr Kevin Smith, of Harihari.

However, the County Engineer, Mr Doug Forrest, has said that the council was not trying “to destroy anything: we are trying to give better access to'a very lovely area.”

The chairman of the Nature Conservation Council, Sir Holmes Miller, said that Palmers Road was a no-exit road running through the State forest park south of Springs Junction.

The county had cleared the road reserve south of the Lake Cristobel track to “a width of at least 20 metres, denuding what was a very scenic area of hundreds of fully grown trees,” he said.

“The Nature Conservation Council inspected this road in October 1984, as the Grey Council had applied for a Ministry of Works and Development road vote subsidy for the up-grading of “backblocks” or “rural access” roads. It is standard practice for the Ministry to refer such applications to the N.C.C. “The N.C.C. found that not only had work already been carried out before the subsidy had been granted but that it had been done to an unacceptable standard. This was reported to the M.W.D.,” said Sir Holmes. “A later inspection in February 1985 showed that the road was impassable because it was being used for extracting logs cut from the road reserve. “It would appear that public moneys have been expended on the road so that it could be used as a logging access road allowing the council to dispose of the timber for monetary gain.

“This cannot be regarded as a sensible or acceptable example of the management of public land. A 4m to 5m width of formed road bounded by another cleared metre of verge on either side would have adequately served the one farm at the end of the road. “The Nature Conservation Council is the nation’s

watchdog for New Zealand’s flora, fauna, and scenic values. We are aghast at this excessive destruction of mature forest bordering a road giving access to some of the most glorious scenery in the park,” said Sir Holmes Miller. Mr Smith claimed that the only improvement which should have been done was the removal of some of the windfall trees along the roadside which could have fallen across the way.

Instead, the County Council had chosen to undertake “a inajor timber-milling operation on the side of the road.”

Mr Smith alleged that 90 truck loads of millable timber were removed during the road-widening work on Palmers Road and sold to a Nelson firm as chip. In addition, prime red beech timber extracted was used unjustly for bridge decking when treated radiata pine could have served better. The road had been one of the most scenic and recreationally important drives in the country, but the roadwidening efforts had turned it into little more than a “quagmire.”

“It was one of the few places where you could drive through a forested avenue of red beech as well as being an important access toad to Victoria Forest Park,” he said.

The conservation lobby was gravely concerned that this type of work was being conducted without first consulting interested parties or making an environmental assessment of the land, said Mr Smith.

The County Engineer, Mr Forrest, said that while the road might appear untidy at the moment with the work still not completed, the resulting regeneration along the roadside and a more easily accessible road would enhance the Palmers Road area.

The road was 3.9 metres wide and the maximum road width permitted in the county was only 4.5 metres.

It was not the intention of the county to “build a highway” but'rather to create a safer passage for traffic wishing access to a “uniquely scenic spot.” As Palmers Road was about 160 km from the county depot its future servicing would prove difficult and so it was decided to have all likely windfall trees and others which might fall across the road in a slip removed. With that in mind, it had been considered appropriate to clear to the edge of the road reserve and let the fringe regenerate to provide an embankment of “lush ferns” and other bush. He said that the council’s road-widening work near Mitchells about 12 months ago had not only greatly improved the public safety by giving greater corner vision but had since regenerated into a “delightful and scenic tunnel of ferns.” Where red beech had been struck during the work it was removed and used for bridging as this was considered a cheap commodity which could work for the benefit of county ratepayers. No red beech was sent away as chip, but where the county encountered brown

or hard beech in good condition the logs were sold as chip or used in the preparation of fords. Many of the other trees taken were hollow, he said.

Mr Forrest said that he was unsure of the total number of loads extracted from the area, but gave little credence to Mr Smith’s figure of 90. For Mr Smith to speak with authority from Harihari on an area at the opposite end of the region required an "extremely great knowledge." he said.

The suggested figure of 90 truckloads of beech chip log might hhave been confused with other private logging by an adjoining landowner who is also a chip contractor. The county had no interest in private sawmilling, he said.

The Reefton district ranger in the Forest Service, Mr Nobby Riki, said that the work did not directly affect State forest land, as where the forest cut through Victoria Forest Park, a boundary strip administered by the Lands and Survey Department separated the road from the forest.

The Assistant Commissioner of Crown Lands, Mr Trevor Bryant, said that the department had suggested that the roadside clearing had encroached on Crown land.

However, an inspection and survey of the road defined the work to be within road reserve and the conservation bodies concerned were advised to communicate with the Grey County Council if they were still not satisfied, Mr Bryant said.