As a last resort to get willow and poplar poles desperately needed for prevention and control of erosion, the Northland Regional Council has been forced to look at setting up a nursery of its own.
The council's environmental committee has recommended establishing a nursery on two blocks of flat, arable land in Flyger Rd that the council bought recently as part of securing a 20km rail corridor to Northport. The proposal goes before the whole council next month.
A report by NRC land management specialist Bob Cathcart and land management adviser Wayne Teal was emphatic that the council had little choice but to start a nursery if it was to meet statutory obligations under the Soil Conservation and Rivers Control Act 1941 and the Resource Management Act 1991.
Mr Teal said the supply situation had got steadily worse since closure of the nationally known suppliers, Mangakahia business Stix Poplars, two years ago.
"We tried to facilitate the handover of Stix Poplars to other operators without success and inviting expressions of interest from interested parties has met with mixed success," he said.