Whispering trees

Press, 19 December 1989, Page 25

Whispering trees

By

CRAIG DOWLING

Whoever says money does not grow on trees obviously hs never met Mr Bill Studholme. Mr Studholme is the Selwyn Plantation Board’s chief executive, and to hear him speak you would swear there were dollar bills instead of pine needles on his precious trees. "Listen,” he commands a group of people he is guiding around some of the board’s 9900 hectares of afforested land. “You can hear the trees grow,” Mr Studholme says. "And if you really listen carefully you can hear the money grow on the trees.” It is this market oriented approach which Mr

Studholme applies to the management of the Selwyn Plantation Board. And it is this which saved the board from being carved up during the recent local body amalgamation reforms. The board was one of the few special interest bodies to be left untouched by the reforms — provided it commits itself to corporatisation. It is now investigating the various options open to it, including the possibility of listing on the Stock Exchange. The forest reserves under management of the board are spread across the Canterbury plains, and the foothills, to minimise the risks from wind, drought and fire, Mr Studholme says.

“The board believes the future of its forests is bright. "For a number of years the board has developed stands which will provide a sustained yield production of radiata pine of 300 ha per year. “This will result in production levels of 100,000 tonnes by the year 1996,” Mr Studholme says. “This level of production will be able to be sustained in perpetuity, provided a further 1200 ha of land suitable for planting is purchased before 1996. “This means jobs for the region, and a solid base for a business,” Mr Studholme says. And folding-stuff from forestry.