CATCHMENT BOARD

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 9, Issue 13, 9 October 1945, Page 6

CATCHMENT BOARD

MINISTER ELUCIDATES POSITION

EARLY FORMATION URGED

Following the deputation from the Eastern Bay of' Plenty which re. cently waited on him with regard to the proposed formation of a Catcto-mc-nt Board being established in this area, the Minister of Works (Hon, li. Semple) has replied through the Member for the district (Mr W. Sullivan) urging that the necessary steps to l'onn a catchment district be undertaken without delay by the interested local bodies. The letter states that it is essen-. tial that a catchment district should include the whole of the catchments of one or more rivers } ami in consequence the Whakatane. County would not be a suitable area in itself for declaration as a catchment district. In the Bay of Plenty district however it was considered that for effective administration, a suitable, catchment di-strict should . at least include the catchment A all I rivers from the Tarawera River down to the Waioeka River inclusive. ' Such a district would include part of the Whakatane County, part Ro-" torua and Taupo Counties and an , important part of the Opotjki Couni ty and together of course with the Boroughs within that area. Lands: Department Responsibility The deputation raised, the question of the administration of and ' financing of further works in the ! Rangitaiki Drainage Area. In reply , the Minister advised that the Lands Department was prepared .to continue its present admini-stratimi of | the drainage area in the immediate i future. at an appropriate time the. Catehmen,t Board would be approached to take over the administration of the area as it was felt that this body should ultimately xlo so in line with established practice elsewhere in New Zealand. Any further work of a major nature would lie financed"jointly by contribution from the district to be i fitted by the work and by subsidy from the Soil Conservation and Rivers Control Council. The district's - contribution will, of course, have . to be in accordance with its financial resources but it was; realised that a large part of the cost of work in the district would have to be borne by the Soil Conservation and Rivers Control Council. Deer Destroying Forests Discussing the letter Cr McGougan said that he had learnt from deer-stalkers Avho had visited the back country recently that the destruction to the forest undergrowth by deer was almost beyond belief. It was due to his loss of natural vegetation that the flooding in the lower reaches was getting worse each year. The erosion in small districts like. Opouriao and Ruatoki was quite suifl'cient to convince him that major steps were necessary to check it and a Catchment Board -was the only authority which could cope with it, Cr Wardlaw agreed adding emphatically that the Board's first job would be to exterminate every deer in the district. Cr McCready: What about our tourists ? Cr Wardlaw: We'll shoot the*n too, if they want us to keep deer ! The council decided to forward a copy of the- Minister's letter on to the Opotiki and Borough Councils, the Whakatane Borough' Council and the Rangitaiki Drainage Committee. Further that a meeting of the four local authorities concerncd be callcd after the October meeting when Mr W. Sullivan M.P. was: available. I