Maruia farmer fined $98k for illegally cutting down native forest

By Samantha Gee/RNZ

A farmer and his company in the remote town of Murchison have been fined $98,000 for felling nearly 10 hectares of native forest in the Maruia Valley in the far north of the South Island and selling it as firewood.

The Nelson District Court recently sentenced Hamish Reith & Ealing Farm Ltd to four counts of breaching the Resource Management Act for its seven-year record of logging native forests on two properties near the Shenandoah Highway.

Judge Brian Dwyer said the offending was first discovered in 2022 when a consultant ecologist commissioned by the Tasman District Council conducted a survey of private land and made the discovery.

On one of the private lands surveyed, ecologists noticed that native forest had been cut down and reported it to the local council.

Then in 2023, the Ministry for Primary Industries was contacted about whether a firewood production company in Murchison had sustainable forestry management in place. The company was logging native beech for sale, prompting an investigation by MPI forestry regulators.

Reith admitted under questioning that he logged native forest on his own land and sold the timber through his commercial firewood business, under the mistaken belief that he could log no more than 2.5 hectares of forest land each year.

Under the Tasman Resource Management Plan (TRMP), each piece of "rural 2 zoned land" can cut down no more than 0.2 hectares of native forest every three years.

Hamish Reith and his company were fined $98,000 by the Nelson District Court for illegally logging native forest. Photo: Supplied / Tasman District Council

Defence lawyer Ben Williams said Reith recognised his mistakes, was "extremely embarrassed" and "deeply sorry" for what he had done.

The survey found that in 2020, approximately 4.39 hectares of native forest were cut down on one piece of land; and between 2016 and 2023, 5.36 hectares were cut down on another piece of land.

Williams said his clients understood that they had made every effort to comply with TRMP regulations.

"Mr Reith's written English skills were limited, so he had to rely on people he trusted, who sold him the business. He worked hard for many years and thought he was doing it legally."

Williams described the firewood business as a "mom-and-pop shop" and said the court process had been stressful and unpleasant. The Reiths have since hired an ecologist to protect and improve the remaining forest.

Antoinette Besier, a lawyer acting for Tasman Regional Council, said the defendant's ignorance of the rules was "not sufficient reason".

"The defendant was a farmer but he also operated a commercial firewood business, so it is not persuasive to rely solely on the previous owner's statement that he operated a firewood business."

"If (the defendant) had known about the local planning regulations, he should have had a clear understanding of the restrictions on the scale of felling."

Aerial photo of the deforested area of ​​the Maruia Valley in the north of the South Island. Photo: Supplied / Tasman District Council

Some of the land being logged was classified as primary forest, which is "prohibited from logging and protected," and Besier said the damage was evident, with only 25 percent of the original forest remaining in the area.

She said since the perception of primary forests was a serious issue, the penalties had to be severe.

"There is a very important area of ​​mature podocarp growth here, which provides habitat for endangered bird species such as the kākā and South Island robin, some of which may take a lifetime to recover - if they can recover at all."

In his ruling, Judge Dwyer said the defendants may have misunderstood the upper limit of the amount of logging they were allowed to do, but that was a decision they made after careful consideration.

"Some of the trees were up to six metres high and in my opinion, the quality, size and height of the forest at some stage should have made (the defendant) stop and think 'this is clearly mature native forest, what are the rules' and then look up the regulations."

The violations were first discovered in 2022 when a consultant ecologist commissioned by Tasman District Council conducted a survey of private land. Photo: Supplied / Tasman District Council

Judge Dwyer said the failure to do so was a serious failing and therefore Reith's responsibility as a result was high.

The combined penalty for all charges started at $140,000, with a 25 per cent reduction given for a good guilty plea and an additional 5 per cent reduction for previous good conduct, bringing the final fine to $98,000.

90 per cent of the money will be paid to Tasman Regional Council. Reith was also ordered to pay $1535.94 for an environmental assessment report required by the council and $520 in court costs.

Tasman Regional Council compliance team manager Dave Shaw said the offences were serious and the penalties served as a warning.

"We have significant areas of native vegetation and valuable wetlands which are very important to our local area and if anyone is considering felling them, particularly if it involves any commercial activity, please do your due diligence first and contact the council, check planning regulations and take appropriate advice to avoid this in the future."

The local council has sought to protect the remnant forests through injunctions to protect the remaining forests and, where possible, through enforcement.