Diversifying is the future of forestry

I was keen to do an article on Matt Stuart as I thought that many of you involved in forestry or tree owners that know him would find it interesting. What I didn’t realise was the extent of Matt’s knowledge and experience in the industry, or how enthusiastic he is to work in an industry he is passionate about.

I could write a lengthy piece on his background it could easily take up pages and pages of the paper and you still wouldn’t know it all. The facts are Matt’s had his hand in forestry since 1989 while working during school holidays for his father in a silviculture crew. The end of school saw Matt join a planting crew and around 1992, he branched out, with another young guy from Murchison, and become self-employed.

1994 saw a big planting boom driven by incredibly high log prices. Matt worked in locations such as Hammer Springs, Marlborough Sounds, Outskirts of Blenheim and the Tasman side of Murchison. Often spending months at a time in one of these locations overseeing teams of 10-15 blokes planting, pruning and thinning trees covering hundreds of hectares.

With a passion for the industry and a desire to learn more about forestry Matt made several visits to France, Germany and Russia to see what learnings from their harvest and planting systems could be incorporated into some of the systems Matt was running here in New Zealand. “These countries run some of the biggest and most productive woodlot systems in the world” Explains Matt “They use a very beneficial rotation system that consists of only harvesting selected trees which results in better wood and much less soil erosion”

It became clear to Matt that it would be a wise move to collaborate and bring all his past hands-on experience and overseas learnings together into a central point. So, in 2000 Nelson Forest Mangers was born, with the main focus being delivering a solid return to the tree owner. These days Matt and his team provide many in the top of the south with Silviculture, Carbon Work and sustainable Forestry Management.

Carbon Work isn’t new to Matt he has been involved in Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) work since 2010. A project on the outskirts of Brightwater saw approximately 140 Hectares of land be planted in a diverse range of trees in three stages from 2010-2014. The tree varieties were Redwood, Douglas, Larch, Cedar, Macrocarpa, Lusitanica, Oak, Maple, Walnut, Blue Gum, Black Wood and more commonly Radiata. The range of trees all serve different purposes however one of the main goals of having different varieties is to prevent tree pests and disease spreading especially in the face of climate change.

Other trees were put in for their fire-retardant properties, some such as Oak and Redwood were put in for their enormously beneficial carbon credits once established and lastly the kiwi favourite Pinus Radiata were put in to create some cash flow while the carbon credit rich trees slowly grew. Other benefits of this project to the landowner has been  the mass reduction of weeds and black berry that previously were a problem on the low producing hill sided property.

The long-term future of Carbon credits remains unclear however Matt has some good and interesting advice “Focus on small pieces of unproductive land and find someone who knows what they are doing” In fact Matt points out that many tree owners can harvest a large portion of their trees and still stay in the ETS – (Can achieve tree canopy cover of at least 30% in each hectare at maturity)

Marketing is key for Matt “Nothing makes me happier than giving a client who has been waiting thirty years for their trees to grow a good return” Matt adds. And it can be a tricky situation for those looking at harvest options to decided what option is best for them “The most important thing is that they look at all options not just export, there are many good domestic options.”

Along side the marketing Matt spends a great deal of time coordinating harvesting. “The successful management of harvesting comes down to planning “Matt explains and it seems there is a lot involved – ensuring everything is checked off under the National Environment Standards, organising log transportation, liaising with forestry crews and working with the tree owner. It’s a good thing Matt has been doing this for thirty-one years as it really does require some experience.

A challenge is always welcomed by Matt but recent rising costs in transporting logs, local and export, while still finding the tree owner a good return has been a balancing act. Another challenge is an industry problem – the skilled labour shortage. In particular Matt needs experienced tree planters for the up-coming planting season starting in May and is exploring a range of options to find a solution.

Regardless of the challenges Matt really enjoys his work and says he is lucky to work in an industry he is passionate about. “The best thing about the job is getting out and mixing with the tree owners in person, it’s also really neat to support and offer local employment. I learnt a lot about the industry from my father and it has a strong future. I’m hopeful one day my kids can carry on what Dad and I have here and enjoy it like we do”