THE MENACE OF THE SAND.

Shannon News, 1 June 1923, Page 2

THE MENACE OF THE SAND.

1 CAUSES OF DRIFTS AND THEIR FIXATION. THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND ACRES AFFECTED. The question of arresting the\ sand drift on this coast, which threatens to envelop in its ad- | vance many thousands of acres of J fertile grasslands, has engaged the... attention of local bodies, public men and writers to the press for many years, but the problem gets no niearer .solution from) a national viewpoint a s the years go by. A “Chronicle” representative has recently had the opportunity of enquiring into the subject, and it certainly seems that, through, the activities of the recently-created Forestry Department, there is more hope of grappling with this ; economic waste than ever before. The result of our representative’s observations will be published in a series of short articles, of \Vvich the first appears below. j I. 'IHE PROBLEM. A matter of grave importance to this County as well as to many othersi more particularly on the West Coast of New Zealand, is the drifting sanddunes, which every year cover a larger area of what a few years ago was valuable grazing country. The area of drifting and practically unproductive sand around the New Zealand coasts is approximately 300,000 acres, a huge area, which, when it is understood that nearly the whole extent has taken on its present character within the last forty years becomes even more .significant. Along this coast the sand stretches in an unbroken strip from Paraparaumu to 'Fatea, varying in width from half a mile to two miles and more, and: every 4 year sees hundreds of additional acres of grass, covered: Naturally the question arises: low has this sudden increase come about? According to old settlers along the coast from Foxton to Otaki, up 10 about 1880 there was only one low sand-ridge or fore-dune of partly bare sand, the whole of the remaining country inland being grassed or covered with scrub. This dune was not drifting, but was sparsely cove .‘3d with a growth of toitoi, manuka, pingao, and marram-like grass called taitoUo. And although it might, in a strong storm, break in places and start a small drift, it rapidly was bound again by the quick growing roots of the taitoro. Several causes combined to alter this condition of things, amongst which heavy stocking with, cattle was perhaps ihe principal one, as tending to keep th? surface continually broken. The other causes were the sustained westerly wind, which dating nnm this time, blew throughout the autumn for many yiears, and the burning of patches of covering scrub. It is doubtful, however, if either of these latter causes would have been sufficient without the breaking of the surface by heavy cattle feeding on the palatable sand grasses. Once the foredune was broken, the disentegration of the whole system of grass-covered sand-hills followed. This destruction of what wag a protecting rampart, enabled the drifting sand to destroy the vegetation on the country further inland and thus facilitated the process of devastation.

What, has happened in this locality is only an example: of the process which has obtained all along the coast, and it is important to remember, in relation to later explanations, firstly that the drift did not start until cattle had broken the coastal dune, •)and secondly, that the destruction of this coastal dune and the consequent loss of its protection started in nuany cases independent drifts further back from the coast where the full force of the wind struck.

What, the limits of the present drift will be it is difficult to say. The whole of the coastal hillock system: stretching back considerably beyond the limits of the present loose sand, is the result of some former drift, which reached a. distance of probably twice that now attained. If not checked there is no reason why the present drift should not attain the same dimensions, but, there are rather several reasons why it '.should become even parger, the main one being, again, the existence of stock on hills Iba,t formerly were undisturbed in this respect. Recognising then the necessity for action if this drift is to be stopped, the question arises as to who should be responsible for dealing with what is a very large problem, and there are many reasons why it should uot be left to private enterprise. In the first instance the cost of stopping the drift effectively and permanently, is considerable, and secondly, It is in-

advisable that the control of the reclaimed foreshore should pass out of the hands of the State which might be relied upon to exercise a judicious restraint in Its exploitation. It is only fair to the Government to state that it has recognised that this is a

national question, .and has already entrusted to the Forestry Department activities in connection with experimental work directed towards discovering the cheapest and most effective manner of dealing with the problem. The work of this Department, however, is only experimental in as far as it is necessary to find out what modifications are advisable to a> wellrecognised plan, the reclamation of sdnd dunes having been accomplished successfully in France a. hundred years ago. In this country we have one difficulty which Napoleon, who placed this work on an effective footing in France, did not have to contend with. This is the fact that a large extent of sand dunes in this country is owned by the native race, who will not themselves contribute anything towards the cost of reclamation, and for dealing with whom in this connection no adequate legal machinery exists. This, however, Would not appear to be an unsurmountable difficulty once a hold policy of reclamation could be decided . mam