COUNTY TO EXPAND ITS FOREST

Taupo Times, Volume 23, Issue 51, 27 June 1974, Page 1

COUNTY TO EXPAND ITS FOREST

The Taupo County Council is planning to extend its forestry scheme at Rangitaiki, on the Napier-Taupo Road, by 1600 acres.

About $100,000 will be spent in the next 18 months establishing afforestation on Crown land, leased to the county on a deferred payment basis. It will give the county ,a total of just over 2000 acres of Douglas fir and pinus radiata — which the county chairman, Mr J. M. Black, described at the county meeting on Tuesday as "a very worthwhile investment for posterity." The council's first venture was , 195 hectares of Douglas fir planted adjacent to the Rangitaiki Tavern in 1971. Future plans are for an additional area of 596 hectares of afforestation in the same area. "If present returns for forestry are any indication, we should get a handsome return,'' said the senior area engineer, Mr D. P. Worth. He said preliminary work and surveying for the extended forest had been authorised and carried out in the past year. On the council's behalf the local officers of the New Zealand Forest Service had prepared a proposed plan of operations and costings. "Any proposed extension must be approved by the forest service before a loan can be sought under the

Forestry Encouragement Scheme," said Mr Worth. "In addition, ministerial approval and the consent of the Local Authorities Loans Board is necessary before loan finance can be sought from the Crown. "The Forestry Encouragement Scheme is designed to avoid the necessity of imposing a financial burden on ratepayers. The loan provision should meet establishment and tending costs until the scheme becomes productive and financially self-supporting. "The loan is then paid off out of forestry income and the excess income accrues to council." Mr Worth vvarned the loan would not necessarily cover all the expenses of establishing and maintaining a plantation. Insurance costs, losses by natural causes such as weather or disease, fire loss beyond the insurable period of 10 to 20 years, additional costs of tending and maintenance due to inflation, and expenses such as preliminary surveys could all contribute to the cost of a scheme. Some of the work on the Taupo scheme would be done by county staff but the "physical work" would go to contractors, Mr Worth said. The ground would have to be cleared by October

$100,000 to be spent in v forest plan

and burnt about March, ready for pinus radiata to be planted next winter. The Douglas fir would be planted the following winter. "Although the 1971 plantings were solely Douglas fir, it is proposed to , plant the more suitable and protected areas of the extension in pinus radiata. This species at present provides a better return than Douglas fir, but is less suited to the general area," said Mr Worth. "Pinus radiata takes 25 to 30 years to mature, whereas our original estimate for Douglas fir — 35 to 46 years — was pretty optimistic. "It is more likely to be.

60 years. Although the value of the yields are about the same, pinus radiata has two yields to one of Douglas fir." Mr Worth said it was essential that applications for the necessary approval be made as soon as possible if planting was to begin next year. No lease for the existing area of forest had been executed, and it was proposed to finalise this after the second afforestation scheme had been implemented. The county council decided to take immediate steps to seek ministerial, forest service and Local Authorities Loans Board approval for the new scheme. The maximum loan finance will be applied for.