The Destruction of Native Forests

Forest and Bird, Issue 62, 1 November 1941, Page 1

The Destruction of Native Forests

[EDITORIAL]

NEED FOR REVIEW OF POLICY

HE custom of the Anglo-Saxon has always been to destroy the original forest covering of any country which he colonised. The British cannot be looked upon really as a people imbued with a knowledge of the value of forests, although they have today a great regard for individual trees and gardens. Had New Zealand been colonised by the French, as it nearly came to be, the destruction of our once great kauri forests would probably not have been permitted. Foresters, comments Sir David Hutchins, would have accompanied the pioneers. The method of wanton destruction of the primeval forests was, as most people know, to fell the trees and fire the mass during a dry spell. After a few years the logs which remained unburnt had partly decomposed, offering a tinder-like mass of fuel for the invariably following fire, which frequently spread far and wide, destroying fences and stock. After some 30 to 40 years of this style of opening up the country it . became evident to many that the process had been much overdone. But it was not till 1916, when Sir David Hutchins, a noted forester with wide experience in several countries, was asked to report on the situation, that any real investigation was made. - After much careful examination of the question and the tendering of much valuable information in book form, he advised the setting up of a Forest Service. The irony of the situation is that today Sir David’s writings are being withheld from the general public and those interested in forestry, because either his works do not accord with the - needs of. a politically controlled service or the service disagrees with its founder’s conclusions. All was to be well with our forests when a Forest Service was inaugurated, but unfortunately the service had a most unlucky start, also it was politically controlled, and although headed by two trained foresters was staffed to a large extent by officers whose only forestry experience was in milling native forests. Moreover, this organisation, after being allotted many forest reserves, was expected to pay its way and produce an annual monetary surplus. No time or funds were allotted- for taking stock of the situation and giving opportunity for research with a view to establishing a suitable policy. For many years after the inauguration of this Forest Service the old cut out and get out methods were largely pursued. The denuded lands were then handed over to the Department of Lands and Survey who in many cases rented them to unfortunate settlers who had little hope of making a success as farmers on the only too often poor lands. From the proceeds of the felling of native forests the exotic Pinus radiata was planted in its millions and the public were told at the time that New Zealand led the world in forestry, and such like soothing propaganda was the order of the day. But what should then have been patent to the merest tyro is only now being recognised: that as the main bulk of these exotic forests was planted within the space of a few years they will all mature within a similar period. Further, unless they can be marketed within a few years of their reaching maturitya most unlikely happening— will be largely consumed by compound interest, especially as these earlier planted exotics are now recognised as being able to produce on the whole only low grade timber owing to the indifferent forestry practice pursued in their planting and management. These forests will, however, have many uses such as for concrete boxing, crates and the like. They

will, moreover, possibly have the effect of driving builders into the use of concrete and brick in preference to wood, a happening which should reduce the rents of houses owing to their longer life and lessened depreciation. Today the outlook for future good quality timber supplies is bleak. “By far the bulk of the virgin forests are completely unproductive in that trees are overmature and that any c growth is more than offset by decay,” says the 1941 annual report of the State Forest Service. However,. the poor quality of the timber now being marketed at ever increasing prices indicates that immature trees are being felled, while the reference to decay means that the forests which have weathered storms and all climatic conditions for thousands upon thousands of years are collapsing under an unsuitable system of management. . Many incomplete, misleading and debatable statements such as this occur in this latest annual report of the Service. Other statements include those with regard to the aftermath of selective milling operations, where excess damage to forest unavoidably incurred through the use of loghaulers operating wires is attributed to abnormal gales. Great damage ensues with the use of a wire operated from an engine in a New Zealand forest and it is noticed that in the United States of America also this method of extracting selected logs is being found to be over destructive to the remaining growth. Then again complaint is levelled at a section of the public who are dubbed extremists so far as conservation is concerned. “Conservation as applied to forestry has been defined as the preservation of forests by wise use,” says the report, evidently forgetful of the fact that elsewhere in the report the ever decreasing supplies of native timber are deplored, which means that as the supplies are growing less conservation is non est. These few statements are mentioned in order to emphasise the necessity for complete, instead of partial, truth and facts if the Service wishes to gain the confidence of an ever increasing majority of the public whose concern is the conservation of New Zealand’s prosperity and their native land with its special characteristics as against departmental interests. After all the talk about forest management, silviculture, , scientific forestry, etc., where is New Zealand heading so far as future timber supplies and the checking of erosion are concerned? The Service may be likened to a man gallantly headed upstream but steadily losing ground and being taken down stream towards that cataract which means the exhaustion of reasonable quality timber.' The very great difficulties under which the Service is operating, and the problems confronting it are appreciated, but forestry _in New Zealand is headed to end in confusion and . the importing of' the better supplies required. The whole policy and outlook *- of the Service is long overdue for review. It is difficult in a country like New Zealand for officers to keep abreast of the times. The tendency is to work to please the party in power. Thus today the obsession is board feet of timber. The biological and ecological factors receive scant consideration and it may well be that in pursuing forestry with timber requirements as the chief interest grave damage is being done to the future prosperity of the Dominion through soil damage, erosion and other sequences. 1 The remedy appears to be the securing of the services of the most skilled forester available with a knowledge of the biological and ecological aspects of forestry as well as timber production. The salary necessary to attract such a man would be infinitesimal compared, with the value of his work to the community as a whole. If an outstanding man could be procured his activities should be removed from all political control.