The Pouakani Report 1993

15 The Claim Relating to Forests

15.3 The Logging of West Taupo Forests

Until the 1930s, extraction of timber from indigenous forests proceeded on Maori and general lands as well as Crown blocks. Already, there were some who perceived that the resource was limited and some experimental planting of exotic species was begun in Hurakia State Forest in 1937. Much of the lowland forest was clear felled and developed into farm land on the western side of the ranges near the main trunk line. There was little farm development on the pumice lands on the Taupo side at this stage. The sawmills were a principal provider of employment in the region for several decades.

During the 1940s, in the state forests of the west Taupo ranges, the New Zealand Forest Service developed a policy of planting exotic species on logged over areas of indigenous forests. Planting of a variety of species began at Pureora in 1949, with Douglas fir becoming the preferred tree for a time. By the 1970s, exotic plantings were predominantly radiata pine. By this stage New Zealand Forest Products had established large areas of exotic plantations to the east and west of Pureora State Forest. During the 1950s the timber pulp and paper mill at Kinleith was established and the town of Tokoroa grew nearby. At the same time, Mangakino was established to service the hydroelectric power schemes.

The 1950s saw the beginning of large-scale land development schemes promoted by the Departments of Lands and Survey and Maori Affairs in the Taupo district. Farm development on pumice land, especially on soils derived from Kaharoa ash, had been restricted by the problem of "bush sickness". In the 1930s, scientists in the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research identified the cause in a deficiency of the trace element cobalt in pumice soils. Until the 1940s, pumice soils of the Volcanic Plateau were regarded as only good for planting pine trees. Land development was delayed by the Second World War and it was not until the late 1950s that development schemes were begun in the west Taupo region. Cut-over bush in areas such as Mokai and the bush margins around Titiraupenga and Pureora and southward were transformed into farm land. During the 1960s there was a good deal of debate on the relative merits of farming or exotic forestry on Taupo pumice lands.{FNREF:0-86472-117-XA:15:20}

The "National Forest Survey" conducted by the New Zealand Forest Service in the early 1950s had indicated that the cutting of indigenous forest could not continue at previous rates. One measure taken in the west Taupo forests was to set aside the state forest in the Tihoi and Waihaha area as a long-term timber reserve, while logging was continued in the Pureora State Forest. In 1970 the forest service commissioned the Wildlife Service to carry out ecological studies of bird life in the west Taupo forests. In the early 1960s the forest service had also begun trials of "selection logging" in the Waipapa section of the Pureora State Forest, as a further measure to ensure long-term protection of forest cover for soil and water conservation purposes as well as future timber supply. In 1972 the Wildlife Service expressed concern about the viability of kokako, which had become an endangered species, as well as other native birds whose survival depended on a bush habitat. The concept of "ecological areas" was proposed and accepted by the forest service but there was some debate over the extent of such areas in the Pureora forest in relation to demands for indigenous timber and existing New Zealand Forest Service logging contracts.

In 1975 the forest service introduced a policy of selective logging followed by replanting native species as part of a general policy for management of indigenous forests. This was in marked contrast to the 1960s when cut-over forests were either planted in exotics or transformed into farm land in the climate of development that prevailed then. The 1970s saw a change in public attitudes towards the forest. There was increasing concern about conservation generally, protection of forests, and the survival of indigenous birds, the kokako in particular. There was a well publicised tree-sitting campaign in the giant totara stands in the Pikiariki area of Pureora forest. In 1977 conservation groups presented a case to the Minister of Forests to halt logging in Pureora forest. In January 1978 all logging of indigenous timber was suspended in the west Taupo forests.

In March 1978 the forest service convened a seminar at Taupo, titled Management Proposals for State Forests of the Rangitoto and Hauhangaroa Ranges, Central North Island.{FNREF:0-86472-117-XA:15:21} A management regime was proposed which included no logging in areas to be set aside as ecological reserves, or in protected forest which was to be preserved for soil and water conservation purposes. Outside these areas it was proposed that selective logging should continue in order to meet demands for high quality timber such as rimu for furniture making and totara for Maori carvers, and to meet obligations under existing logging contracts with timber companies in Barryville, Pureora, Tihoi and Te Kuiti. Replanting with native species was part of this policy which was intended to maintain long-term sustainability of the indigenous timber resource. Public debate continued on the issue of logging and conservation, loss of employment, the future of Barryville, Pureora, and indigenous logging generally. A total of 1735 submissions were made to the Minister of Forests following the March seminar.{FNREF:0-86472-117-XA:15:22} The Native Forests Action Council and the Royal Forest and Bird Society also organised a number of public meetings which focussed on the future of West Taupo and other indigenous forests. The central issue was whether there should be some selective logging or no logging at all. A strong body of opinion expressed the view that logging should be stopped, that what little was left of the original forest cover should be preserved.

In August 1978 the Minister of Forests announced a halt to all logging of indigenous forests. In 1975 the forest service had indicated its intention, reiterated in the 1978 seminar, to create a Pureora State Forest Park by proclamation under s63A of the Forests Act 1949. The forest service was developing a policy for multiple uses of state forests, which would allow recreational and other public uses of the forest along with some selective logging and replanting. The minister's announcement stated that the Wharepuhunga, Pureora, Tihoi, Hurakia, Taringamutu and Waituhi State Forests, a total of 71,870 hectares, would be immediately incorporated into Pureora State Forest Park.

The minister also stated that logging would stop by the end of the year in the Pureora and Tihoi forests. The supply of timber to Pureora Sawmills Ltd would cease in December 1978, and to Waihaha and Tutukau mills by March 1979, while the contract with Ellis and Burnand through Tregoweth's mill in Te Kuiti would be renegotiated by offering a supply of exotic timber from Bay of Plenty forests to replace native timber. In a study of social and economic impacts, produced in May 1978 it was suggested that the number of people directly dependent on indigenous forestry, that is workers and their families, was:

   Barryville    137    (134)
   Pureora       131    (216)
   Benneydale     10    (400)
   Te Kuiti      209   (4862)