THE DEPARTED FORESTS

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 491, 22 October 1928, Page 8

THE DEPARTED FORESTS

SUBMISSIVE acquiescence in the assertion that the kauri forests are doomed, and the prospect for kauri dismal, if not altogether hopeless, has been a puzzling feature of New Zealand’s attitude toward the ruthless milling operations that have turned the pride of its timber lands into private profit. To blame any private concern or individual for the present situation would he ridiculous. The trouble began before the days of settlement. Its history is older than local politics; and though the great tracts of workable kauri have vanished like a dream, the forests played their part in nation-building, attracting settlement, and adding vastly to the national wealth. It is a pity that the wonderful timber resources were not husbanded with broader vision; but is there any reason why New Zealand should allow that lasting regret to paralyse its future enterprise? The thought is prompted by the comments of the delegates to the Empire Forestry Conference. Having administered one jolt, with the candid statement that the exotic plantations badly need thinning, they are following it with .another. They wonder why more is not being done to regenerate the kauri forests. We can imagine raised eyebrows and a faint, surprise. New Zealand views the loss of the kauri with almost touching resignation. But for the scenic reserves the kauri is virtually “gone for good”—that is our attitude. This visit of the forestry experts from overseas may cast new light on local problems. A delegate from Borneo proposes to introduce the New Zealand kauri into that great tropic island. In Kenya Colony they are planting cedars for one hundred years hence. In New Zealand we are frantically planting nondescript exotics, which will never, in either grandeur or material value, bear the thinnest comparison with the New Zealand forest aristocrat. Already there is hearly as much pinus insignis as kauri being milled in the Dominion. We are studying the near future, but not the far future, which is equally important. The young kauris growing lustily on the Birkenhead shore supply abundant evidence of future possibilities. The same favourable conditions exist to-day as existed hundreds of years ago, and only action is demanded. Something should he done in the way of setting aside fresh tracts for kauri plantations, and there should he a definite planting schedule—three, four, or five trees for every one felled to-day. This is not only a concern for. the national exchequer, but a question of national pride.