FOREST CONTROL

Hokitika Guardian, 9 April 1921, Page 1

FOREST CONTROL

CONSERVATORS MEET IN

WELLINGTON

WELLINGTON, April 6

The recently-appointed torest conservators had an interview with Hie Minister iti charge of the forestry Department (Sir Francis Bell) yesterday. These ollicers, who will he stationed in various parts of the Dominion, will have important duties in connection with the scheme of forest control, and the lines upon which they are being laid down. The State Forest Service is still at the initial stage of its work, hut it has accomplished a great deal during the last twelve months. It; has secured control of a huge part of the remaining forest lands of the Dominion, and is "proceeding now to gather exact information regarding tho reserved areas. The old happy-go-lucky system of sawmilling is to disappear. Areas will not | )t , assigned to the sawmillers in Hie future until the Forest Service has fust ascertained what amount ol timber is involved, and then laid down the conditions Hud are to he observed in the milling. The Chief inspector ol the State forest Service (Mr A. llansson) has just returned from the West Coast, where two parties are making a timber survey. They are to make special maps of the forest areas and also estimates of ihe amount of timVr available for cutting, thus enabling the service to know exactly what the cutting rights arc worth ' when they arc put on the market. Practice has shown that such estimates are within 10 per cent of correctness, and they are, therefore, of great value to millers competing for the'right to mill the timber. Instead of selling or buying, as the case may he, in Hu* dark, as has been Hold to have been done largely in Hie past both tbe Government and the miller wit know as nearly as possible what they are bargaining about. The parties on] the West Coast have also carried out certain botanical investigations. . One of the tasks of the service is to -ecure the utilisation of umbers Hint have been regarded as worthless, or ot very little value, in Hie past. Much information hearing on this matter has at ready been gathered, and the ‘ ores ly officers believe that they will he abb to secure in the future the economical us,* of a substantially increased piopmtion of the timber in the forest areas handed over to the saw millets, of the trees that have been ne the past are capable of yielding timber of useful quality, which 0 U 'G' the local markets can he induced to absorb.