The Green Room
Interesting to see that sheep farmers are increasingly looking at turning their farms into forests
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/environment/news/article.cfm?c_id=39&objectid=10668118
It would be good if we could encourage them to plant not just for credits, but for biodiversity too....
Actually Mandy, as far as i can tell, this means they're planting their forests in pines - which are a major weed and running rampant over the landscapes throughout the South Island, including the iconic Mackenzie.
The Govt has estimated it will cost $1 billion to deal to the pines... so it's unlikely that will happen. problem is, if they don't deal to the wildings now, five years from now, it'll be a near impossibility due to the density and scale of their spread.
I wonder if the 'carbon farmers' will be subject to the same 'good neighbour' principles the government is introducing for public land (i.e. if you have something likely to go wild over the fence, you're required to control it). somehow i doubt it.
I reckon NZ should be looking for ways to boost its sheep and beef farming heritage... there are now a million dairy cows in Canterbury and that simply is not sustainable in a dryland habitat. and with the science totally clear that dairying particularly is wrecking out lowland waterways, why is this country in denial about the damage it is doing?
As a sheep farmer of Cora Lynn Station near Arthur's Pass, I
spend an inordinate amount of time pulling out and chopping down Douglas Fir. They were planted here by the Forest Service and North Canterbury Catchment Board (now ECan) in 1948-1960 in a fit of enthusiasm for American conifers and their erosion prevention capabilities.
At the time, everyone thought it a great idea. The parent trees were planted here by the 1st NZ Professor of Forestry, Peter McKelvie and by Forester John (JG) Groome. They were both 18 years old at the time.
Thousands of Douglas seedlings now rain down on our totally protected beech forest, "moa shrubland" and natural river bed. In all these places they soon germinate and rapidly outstrip and smother every native plant.
It is an ecological nightmare.
We have assistance from tourists, from tramping club volunteers, from US college students, from ECan staff and DOC staff and of course put in hundreds of hours ourselves but we are not yet winning.
The Carbon Credit nightmare sounds like it has the potential to become another nightmare just like the "Hold this land and prevent erosion by planting American trees" scenario.
Dreamed up by the suits in Wellington without a practical bone in their bodies...they will probably respond with some cliche like "These trees will never become a weed problem providing appropriate grazing regimes are maintained" Yeah Right!
Anyone who wants to help save unique native plants and insects here by pulling out or chopping firs please get in touch through this chatroom.
I guess our unfortunate ETS is another example of something that will have unintended environmental consequences. Any thoughts, Tawaki, on other things we're doing today that will come back to haunt us and our land and seas in 50 years?
"I wonder if the 'carbon farmers' will be subject to the same 'good neighbour' principles the government is introducing for public land (i.e. if you have something likely to go wild over the fence, you're required to control it). somehow i doubt it."
Good to hear, as I have a Problem with gorse invadeing my property from public land. Will DOC be required to be a good neighbour too?
"I reckon NZ should be looking for ways to boost its sheep and beef farming heritage..."
Pointless feelgood type comment. We've been doing that for decades. Simple fact at the moment though, is that certain land earns more from dairy, just as growing pines and takeing carbon credits may be seen as the best viable use for other land classes given current information.
Perhaps extra value should be placed on credits where land is retired and allowed to regenerate into native.
" there are now a million dairy cows in Canterbury and that simply is not sustainable in a dryland habitat. and with the science totally clear that dairying particularly is wrecking out lowland waterways, why is this country in denial about the damage it is doing? "
Its not in denial. Those kind of comments annoy the hell out of me. Those of us who have been in farming for the last 20 years have faced massive changes in attempt to make our industry cleaner, and the majoriety has been at our expense.
The drive to clean up the industry has fallen on a single generation, from a situation created over many. Just the direct methods of protecting the rivers through my land has cost in excess of 300,000 in a 5 year period. Thats not counting the value of land lost to production in being set aside. This is going to progress, we will see the use of fertilizer's become more and more restrictive, as well as water use, and probably stocking rates will, at some stage be controlled as well. It cannot be done all at once though.
For once, instead of seeing a generalisation of the negative, I would like to see some acknowledgement of the good work that has been done so far, and recognition that these things have to take time.
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