C.—3.

CHAPTER I.—MANAGEMENT. 1. Areas under Control. The total area under the control of the State Forest Service at the close of the fiscal year as shown by the appended table is 7,910,172 acres, made up of State forests, 4,043,693 acres, and provisional State forests, 3,866,479 acres. Bearing these figures in mind, it is interesting to compare the present position with that which existed when the Service was first established as a separate Department of State. In the report for the year ended 31st March, 1921, the total area under control was 6,802,970 acres, or 1,107,202 acres less than it is to-day. Even more arresting are the figures showing the area of permanent State forests at the date last mentioned. This was 1,668,319 acres; to-day the total (4,043,693 acres) shows an increase of nearly 2,400,000 acres, and the figures under this head are now nearly two and a half times greater than at the close of the year 1921. On the other hand the total acreage of provisional State forests in 1921—viz., 5,134,651—has decreased by 1936 to 3,866,479, a reduction of 1,271,172 acres. The work of examining and classifying provisional State forests was continued during the year, with the result that a further 152,000 acres, in round figures, were proclaimed permanent State forests; the bulk of this area—approximately 93,000 acres—is located in Auckland Region, and about 50,000 acres are in Westland. State and provisional State forests now comprise nearly 12 per cent, of the total area of the Dominion, and, while the position in this respect has improved by nearly 2 per cent, since 1921, a much greater increase is necessary to ensure that the future forestry needs of the Dominion will be adequately met.

TABLE 1. Areas of State Forests as at 31st March, 1936.

A schedule of the areas withdrawn from forest reservation (see Table II) shows that the total is 8,260 acres, of which 7,951 acres were made available for settlement. Two hundred and ninety-eight acres were set aside under the Scenery Preservation Act, and 11 acre.s were reserved as a resting-paddock for travelling stock. For the year 1934-35 the total area withdrawn was 56,786 acres, but of this '48,440 acres were added to the Sounds National Park.

TABLE 2. Summary of Areas withdrawn from Permanent and Provisional State Forest Reservation, 1st April, 1935, to 31st March, 1936.

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Permanent State Forests. Provisional State Forests. Percentage of Forest Conservation Total Area Region. National ,, lotals. of Region Ordinary. Endow- Ordinary. iNational under ment . Endowment. Reservation. j — Acres. Acres. Acres. Acres. Acres. Auckland .. 310,118 81,646 111,153 14,016 516,933 6-01 Rotorua .. 342,608 235,948 130,996 84,365 793,917 15-80 Wellington .. 951,404 63,318 37,691 10,222 1,062,635 7-10 Nelson .. 309,632 121,615 1,180,932 627,169 2,239,348 31-96 Westland .. 622,195 172,019 522,299 422,992 1,739,505 45-02 Canterbury .. 332,806 3,647 .. .. 336,453 3-38' Southland .. 440,963 55,774 710,904 13,740 1,221,381 7-19 Totals .. 3,309,726 733,967 2,693,975 1,172,504 7,910,172 11-91

For Settlement Purposes. Scenic F° r Stock Reserve. Reserve. Region. — Totals. Permanent Provisional Permanent Permanent State Forest. State Forest. StateJForest. State Forest. Acres. Acres. Acres. Acres. Auckland .. .. .. 37 846 218 .. 1 ; 101 Rotorua .. . . . . 396 368 . . .. ' 764. Wellington .. .. .. 252 8 64 11 335 Nelson .. .. .. .. 5,554 .. .. 5,554 Westland .. .. .. .. 475 .. .. 475 Canterbury . . .. 15 .. 16 . . 31 Southland Totals .. .. .. 700 7,251 298 11 8,260