Our Disappearing Indigenous Forests

Forest and Bird, Issue 149, 1 August 1963, Page 3

Our Disappearing Indigenous Forests

by

One of the headings in our annual report read “Increased Tempo of Indigenous Forest Milling”. At the annual meeting Mr. Arthur Seed objected to that heading, stating that in fact it was misleading; the meeting agreed to add to the heading the words “in relation to the remaining available stands of timber”. Mr. Seed has for many years been associated with the timber-milling industry as an officer of the N.Z. Timber Merchants’ Federation, and also he is one of the oldest members of our Society, not merely by years of life but also by years of membership. It was good to have him with us, even if he did have a complaint to lodge against the section of the report I compiled. I drafted the heading as a result of requests from various quarters, asking whether something cannot be done to slow down the rate of milling of the remaining stands of native timbers.

From different parts of both islands we receive reports of new milling ventures —from the Bay of Plenty to the far south. One rather forms the opinion that instead of wisely conserving those commercial stands of indigenous timbers we have left available, there is some anxiety to acquire and mill them as quickly as possible. Members will be interested to know the position as I see it; to help them do so I shall quote figures as I understand them to be.

Perhaps in reading them, readers will recollect that the land area of New Zealand, including Stewart Island but not other island territories, is approximately 65% million acres, of which possibly up to 80 per cent, or more was forested some time before the arrival of the Maoris. Climatic changes and occupation by Maoris undoubtedly reduced the area of forested lands, and it is likely that about 50 per cent, of the land, or say up to 30 to 35 million acres, carried forests of a sort when the pakeha arrived. The introduction of matches and the white man’s desire for timber and cleared spaces played havoc with the forest in the early years of pakeha settlement. One estimate puts the area of forested lands in 1847 at 28 million acres. What is the position now? As given in the 1955 survey the remaining forested lands, including parks, reserves, high-country forestforests of every sort —totalled less than 14% million acres, of which little more than two million is available

The President

exploitable or merchantable forest. In little over a century, therefore, we have wiped out half of the forest, or, to put it in another way, we have disposed of nearly seven times the amount of forest now available. We dare not ever clear protection forests; we must not interfere with national parks and scenic reserves. If we are to continue using native timbers should we not now be jealously rationing what we have left? I believe we should, but are we? Let the figures speak for themselves.

Annual production of timber given to nearest million board feet rough sawn:

It will be seen from these figures that without the exotic timbers our situation today would be very grave. At the moment we have sufficient exotics and some to spare. Obviously we should now be making every effort to persuade users to switch to exotics or other substitutes. I am sure that is the desire of the N.Z. Forest Service, but I am far from sure that merchants and others understand the need, or, if they understand, are prepared to co-operate. For instance, in the New Zealand Timber Journal for May, where the opening of a timber mill in South Westland is described, the following appears: “Apart from offsetting the decline in North Island output, the company also was anxious to ensure continued availability of indigenous timber to prevent too much reliance being placed on substitutes.”

Of course I understand the merchants’ point of view; but with only two million acres of exploitable indigenous timber between us and native-timber starvation, it doesn’t sound sensible to me, and that is why I included the item in our annual report.

Total Total Total Year indigenous exotic both 1921 297 10 308 1930 272 10 282 1940 288 48 336 1950 324 155 478 1955 324 292 616 1956 318 308 626 1957 312 285 597 1958 314 282 596 1959 319 318 637 1960 339 355 694 1961 319 395 714 1962 311 381 693