SOIL EROSION

Grey River Argus, 31 October 1942, Page 3

SOIL EROSION

AND NATIONAL CONSERVATION

(By

E. L. Kehoe)

When the white man purchased from the native owners what is now known as Westland, in 1863, practically the whole of it was under forest—the exceptions being—river valleys and flats, rather small coastal plains, and a fair amount of poor and sour pakihi land. Over the face of the earth stretched an almost unbroken primeval .forest right to the bush line on the Alps, the coastal ranges and their outliers. On some of the coastal flats such as now occupied by a portion of the town Of Greymouth, from the river to the limestone range grey giant rimu, miro, totara and matai had their habitat; the limestone range itself was covered by smaller pines and rata, and the undergrowth of supplejack, lawyer, and vines fostered the seed bed of the forest floor—the potential forests of the future. The position now seems to be that at least two-thirds of the original forest has disappeared. True there are smiling farm lands in the available river flats and valleys, and towns such as ours occupy their present sites for ■ geographical and transport reasons. There are large tracts of land now fullv “cleared” where the milling industry has flourished, and sometimes languished, for fifty years or more; many of these tracts are desolate and despoiled. Through these lands good reading facilities exist, but the traffic of commerce on them grows less and less, while rates and loyalties for their upkeep are almost at vanishing point. Up till quite recent years much of this land if treated reasonably, would now be slowly but surely forming a forest once more. The policy that has been followed has created land carrying neither farms nor forests, but bids fair to become a veritable desert. Something should be done to restore it, and, probably the safest and quickest plan would be to sow plantations of suitable exotic trees, since the davs for natural regeneration of the native bush are apparently over in tnose parts. But there are still fairly large areas where the mistaken policy of the past is still flourishing—if the word flourishing can be used regarding such methoas. Here is the vicious cycle of activity that has obtained: First, the mill cuts through, and cuts out finally; sec-, tions of this “cut over” land are leased lo optimistic settlers. who apply heroicallv the axe and fire according to traditional practice—and after years of hard work and high hope they achieve farms indeed. but of a kind which seem destined to remain on, or under the margin of cultivation. The new policy should reverse this retrograde progression. Such land, when the mill cuts out should be closed up and reserved for nature to attend to her business of regeneration. If man. instead of attacking nature with fire and sword, had helped her with conservation and protection, the forests would regenerate in time—and perhaps .m less time than has become the fashion to suggest, because the remaining trees in “cut over” country are of all stages of growth from mere seedlings to those of fairly mature growth; all are on their way to perpetuate the natural forest? Anyhow what matter how long it takes—there are results accruing in other ways but particularly in the prevention of soil erosion—and this way leads to an eventual forest, while the old way leads to a desert and in a much shorter time. Therefore one suggests that in the matter of dealing with “cut over” land there is something here for the Soil Erosion and Rivers Control Board to get its wisdom teeth into. Close scrutiny of the Government’s methods of leasing “cut over” land might be worth while. In this connection, .immediate monetary results may actuate the- departments concerned just as the securing of such results are the driving force with company and individual enterprise. The tempo in felling the forest has lately quickened to a hot pace bu the old methods remain, and a very first step in a comprehensive conservation plan might well be an investigation. Of course in our higher and ridgy country on the West Coast a great deal of the bush cover still exists, from a cursory tourist viewpoint it has all the appearance of permanance; regarding it millers are indifferent, and disinterested, while the casual traveller looks at it with equanimity. But all it not well here either as 1 will show. Evervone knows that our West Coast honey has a high reputation for quality and flavour; it has been given the specific name of Rata honey to distinguish it from all others; the range of the bees for years past has been “high, wide and handsome,” nothing less than the hi ph bush country where the Southern Rata is the predominating growth; flowering profusely in certain years (these are good rata years and therefore good honey years), and in other years carrying less bloom, but always abloom year in and year cut, it has been looked upon as everlasting. Recently however, apiarists in the Blackball district have .noted a wilting and a decay amongst the ratas; always considered to be virtually permanent this discovery is alarming to say the least, of it. What is the cause? Well only expert and intense investigation can answer this fully and completely; it is probably the cumulative effect of many causes. The hillside forest, which, from a comfortable motor car on a scenic highway looks so fresh and fair, is in reality entering the last losing lap in its race against pests. It is dying on its feet. These pests arc many, but notably opossums; there arc also dser, goats, pigs, and cattle wandering in that wildwood. None of these animals arc natural to our bush. They all destroy the forest floor and seed bed foi- future forests; they all open up the bush to wind, weather and fire —bringing about soil erosion on both small and large scale; they destroy the balance and the native economy of the natural growth. These animals attack the trees directly, and do untold damage to the undergrowth that is essential for the protection of young seedlings and trees. Most people know of the deer menace highly publicsed, but the opossum is probably just as menacing. It seems incredible but recently it was urged upon the Government by responsible public bodies, that opossum farming on the grand scale should be encouraged here, so that more valuable skins, blues and greys and all the other shades of the marsupials would be produced. Against all the bitter experience of the past, against all warnings by competent observers, these bodies solemnly set forth their views. As an instance of that complacent smugness mentioned above this is indeed a classic. It is an example cf “the inexpungable power of stupidity against which even the gods themselves strive in vain.” Under present conditions the high country Rata is doomed. We can’t have .it'both ways, and, though its final extinction may be delayed, it is in no condition to withstand these attacks and niay even, being in no shape tofight off an epidemic disease, go quite suddenly.