AKATARAWA WATERSHED

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 192, 11 May 1937, Page 3

AKATARAWA WATERSHED

Forestry Officer’s Report A valuable heritage for the future is the great 80,000-acre block of country which embraces the watersheds ot the Akatarawa, Whakatiki, Hutt, and Pukeratahi Rivers at the head of the Hutt Valley, the greater part of which was a gift from tlie Government as a source of water supply for the greater Wellington of the future. Although the gospel of tree-planting to prevent river erosion has had comparatively little effect in some districts, a steady system of afforestation has been carried out in this area, alongside one of tree-felling for milling purposes. Possibly to some extent the one activity contradicts the other, but the milling is carried on under strict supervision by the Wellington and Suburban Water Board’s forestry officer, Mr. A. N. Perhan. That officer supplies an annual report to the board. His report for the year ended March 31 was presented to the board last month, but, following the usual practice, it could not be released until it had been submitted to the Commissioner of State Forests, which has since been done, 'Tlie report states that during the 12 months forestry work had been concerned mostly with maintenance. Two excessively wet seasons in succession had caused a profuse growth of bracken in many places on the planted area, and it liad been imperative to cut lines so that thg young trees would not be suppressed; attention bad been concentrated upon that rathe • than new work. Mr. Perhan reported that in the oldest inter-planted areas the exotie trees appeared to have gained a definite ascendancy over the second growth, and provided that they maintained reasonable growth the objective of sustained yield would be achieved. Lawson's cypress, suga, western red cedar, redwood, ami Douglas fir had each demonstrated that if planted on a suitable site they were capable of sufficient growth rate to be successful, and as those species covered a sufficiently wide range of softwood timber types they would, in combination or indivadually, be used practically exclusively. Experimental work with poplars, of which a nursery of 12 species was being developed, would be undertaken during tlie next few years. The tire hazard had been eliminated in and around the water collection areas by the abnormally wet season, the report stated, but this was probably g mixed blessing as it had been impossible to burn < ft debris in some danger spots, and the accumulation might be difficult to deal with later on. The output from the timber mill in the Akatarawa block, 849,410 board feet, was lower by 52,890 feet than the output last year and the lowest since 1932-33, when 847,978 feet were cut. The season for taking opossums in the Wellington acclimatisation district was again declared open, and the blocks on th water collection areas were offered for disposal by tender and generally speaking were taken up at low prices or left, without offer, Mr. Perhan reported. Catches were again indifferent to poor, and a« lie lind pointed out in previous reports a series of closed seasons was urgently required to bring the blocks back to a reasonable trapping standard.