STATE FORESTS

Grey River Argus, 28 August 1939, Page 3

STATE FORESTS

annual report. WELLINGTON, August 26. Forests controlled by the State _oi - est Service on March 31 last lotall ® c 8 354 861 acres. This is shown in SS report % swvl 'V,K was presented in the House oi Rep resentatives to-day. presents an increase of slightly less than 250,000 acres on that lor the <oi responding date of the The dedication of bush-clad Crow lands as State forests stated to be steadily proceeding, as from time to Gme new tracts of country are examined and classified as unsuitable lor farming purposes. The report states that the production of timber for the year ended March 31, 1940, is expected to approach 345,000,000 board feet, which approaches closely the peak repoited production of 353,000,000 board feet in 1925-26. Production for the year ended March 31 last was estimated at 335,000,000 board feet. Through conservation of white pine supplies for local essential uses, export of this timber had been reduced from almost 15,000,000 feet board measure in 1938, thus accounting for the total drop in exprot trade from 27,000,000 feet to 15,000,000 feet. The expansion in import trade was caused solely by the increased demand for “special-use” timbers for which local substitutes were either not available or in restricted supply —principally Australian hardwoods and long-length Douglas fir.