Poplar tree shortage hits council

Poplars are highly versatile and valuable trees and are ideal to plant to help reduce erosion. Specially developed for soil conservation, their extensive root systems help to bind soil together on stream sides and hillsides. Poplars are excellent for shelter, stock fodder, bioremediation and of course for their timber.
A serous shortage of poplar trees to help stop riverbank erosion has forced the Northland Regional Council to call for expressions of interest for a new poplar nursery in the region.
The council uses up to 2000 poplar poles a year alongside riverbanks to stop erosion, but Northland's only specialist poplar nursery, Stix Poplar, operated by Murray Hunter, closed last August after 35 years in business.
With the closure of Stix, and demand for poplars expected to increase, regional council staff have had to get poplar poles from outside the region.
An order of 1000 poles was filled by a Palmerston North nursery, but cartage increases costs and will limit the number of poles that can be ordered. Long term, a Northland source is required.
Some regional councils have their own nurseries but are reluctant to supply to anyone else because of limited stocks. Specialist nurseries tend to grow only on contract.
Regional councillor Tony Davies-Colley said it was a real concern that Stix had closed and there were no tree stocks left to start a new nursery.
Cr Davies-Colley said the time to start planting a poplar nursery was a few months' time, and the value of having a poplar nursery in the region was huge for the Northland Regional Council.
"We need to put it out to the public that we're searching for a [suitable] piece of land or somebody to come up with a business plan [to establish a nursery]," he said.
Cr Davies-Colley said about 6ha to 8ha of land was needed.
As well as the regional council's poplar needs, Northland farmers use thousands every year to guard against erosion, with the trees particularly liking damp soil. Cr Joe Carr - a farmer, said he planted about 300 a year.
Geoff Gover, the forestry industry representative on the committee, said his sector had known for a few years that Mr Hunter was getting out of the business and had stocked up on poplars.
The regional council will call for expressions of interest to supply it with at least 2000 poplar poles a year for five years and investigate the future of poplar supplies.
The council hopes the five-year guarantee of supply will give security for anybody interested in setting up a poplar nursery.
The costs associated with securing the establishment of a local supply could potentially be met via the Exceptional Projects funding stream of the Environment Fund, pending the regional council's approving any application for funding.