Forest Talk

The Bravo contingent of 20 firefighters experienced in arduous conditions, plus two liaison officers, departed recently to support firefighting efforts in Victoria, Australia.

This second Fire and Emergency New Zealand deployment followed a formal request from Emergency Management Victoria for an exact replacement of the current Alpha deployment which arrived back in New Zealand earlier this month.

Deputy National Commander, Brandan Nally, says..... more

As the eradication response effort on Auckland’s North Shore continues to accelerate, radio tracking technology has enabled the detection of ten yellow-legged hornet nests.

Biosecurity New Zealand’s Commissioner North, Mike Inglis, says the technique - attaching tiny radio transmitters to worker hornets and tracking them back to their nests - has quickly become a core tool in the response programme.

“Our capability with the equipment is growing..... more

The wood sector needs to “seize efficiency opportunities to reduce energy costs and fuel use” says Wood Processors and Manufacturers Association (WPMA) Chief Executive, Mark Ross.
 
 “A lot of our sector’s emissions come from energy, as well as a large proportion of ongoing operational costs. We’re increasingly seeing businesses taking steps to use less energy because it’s a win-win - lower bills and lower emissions,” says Mr Ross.
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While there are many winch-assist units out in our industry supporting felling and bunching on steep terrain, winch-assist skidding is a lot less common, says the University of Canterbury’s Prof Rien Visser. 

He continues: “Under the right conditions winch-assist skidding allows us to operate on what was traditionally cable logging terrain, however, our understanding of its full potential is still somewhat in its infancy. Within the scope of the..... more

Local businesses came together in Timaru to ‘save Christmas’, with the wider community helping too.

A community-led proposal was instituted to install a felled pine tree, to replace the fire damaged Christmas tree, at the top of the Bay Hill.

Local business leader, Gordon Handy, was relaxing before Christmas after hearing about the Christmas tree being damaged early the same morning and thought “the community has to have a Christmas tree”.

Memories of the early days in New Zealand’s logging of exotic plantations came easily to Jim Spiers when he was interviewed by Alison Brown back in 2012. 

In 1941 Jim took up one of the first technical trainee positions with the NZ Forest Service and at the onset of his training was sent to Conical Hill Forest, nine miles east of Tapanui in West Otago. The Tapanui area had five distinct plantations, known as the Pomahaka District.

“By the ..... more