Twenty years ago I could look over the Herekeno State Forest and it was a solid healthy green. There were not many possums in Northland back then. Today that solid green is now blotched with dead and dying trees, just like the rest of New Zealand.

So what is the answer? CHOP DOWN OUR NATIVE FORESTS!!!

Before you go all green on me, I’ll say it again.

Chop down our native forests SLOWLY.

There are hundreds of millions of dollars locked up in our forests. Let’s use the money to save them. Every year chop down every three hundredth tree, market the timber and use that money to save our heritage.

For every tree cut down plant another. Why not plant another ten native trees. In thirty odd years we could double the number of native trees. They could be given away. There would be few homeowners that would refuse a free tree. Farmers would use them for shelterbelts, stream banks, and the odd unstable gully. Our coastlines could be re-cloaked in pohutukawa, and kowhai could once again shade our streams. Kauri, rimu, and totara could rise above the gorse.

With an ongoing annual income we could develop an extensive programme of pest proof fencing creating a series of mainland islands, with forest corridors connecting them. Mainland islands are a proven concept and will enhance our lives, our environment, and a tourist experience. The native wildlife restored and flourishing without predation would be a wonderful legacy to pass onto our grandchildren. Let’s bring back the birdsong.

A reliable ongoing supply of native timber would create its own industry of high value high quality products. Pine will never compete with kauri for depth and warmth of finish. Ongoing harvesting and planting will provide jobs, as would pest control and biodiversity management. And, there may be a few carbon credits involved.

Coppicing, the traditional management of trees to produce an ongoing supply of whatever was needed has a long history. Woven hazel screens, used for fishing, date back to 5000BC. Henry VIII passed statutes to coppice English forests to protect the supply of oak. Felling and replanting is not strictly coppicing but on a three hundred year rotation it will be never ending. A never-ending income stream used to save and enhance our forests.

Want to genuinely save our forests? Start chopping them down!