DENNIS HEALEY
DENNIS HEALEY recently retired as principal information officer of the British Forestry Commission.
THIS YEAR the British Forestry Commission celebrates its Golden Jubilee, and it is perhaps an appropriate time to recall the origin and history of this forest authority and to review its achievements.
In the 50 years since it was founded, the commission has succeeded in forming an estate of some 2.8 million acres (1.12 million hectares) which includes 1.65 million acres (660 000 hectares) of young forest. Much of this is still immature, but a significant and steadily increasing amount of timber is being produced to meet the demands of traditional markets and important new wood-using industries. These areas are small compared with those in most European countries, but are nevertheless helping to redress a situation in which the United Kingdom is the biggest net importer of wood and wood products in Europe, if not in the world, growing barely 10 percent of its total consumption.
The commission's achievement should be measured against the obvious difficulties in carrying out a substantial forestry enterprise in a small country where claimants to land are numerous and diverse. It should also be remembered that when the commission started its large-scale afforestation programme the country had little or no forestry tradition to support its objectives and few experienced professional foresters.
To consider the commission's story in detail it is necessary to go back beyond the date of its establishment in 1919. The outbreak of the first world war found the United Kingdom almost wholly dependent upon imported timber, and when unrestricted submarine warfare developed it was decided to reduce overseas supplies and concentrate on increasing output from the home woodlands, which were largely in private ownership. The result was that overexploitation became inevitable and some 450 000 acres (182 000 hectares) were clear-felled. Such a loss might have been small to some countries but it was a body blow to the United Kingdom's timber resources, which (with those of Ireland) were contained in probably less than 3 million acres (1 214 000 hectares) of forest, by no means all of which was under management.
As the war progressed it became clear that the country would have to reconsider its attitude to forestry, hitherto the Cinderella of rural pursuits. A committee was set up which issued a report in the latter part of 1918, emphasizing that an afforestation programme of 1 770 000 acres (716 000 hectares), in which state and private forestry would cooperate, was urgently necessary to make the United Kingdom, which at that time included Ireland, independent of imported timber for a period of three years in the event of another emergency. Within a short while an Interim Forest Authority was set up which, although without powers to hold land, set about with vigour to provide plants, train technical staff and survey land suitable for afforestation.
On 19 August 1919 the Forestry Act, which provided for the formation of the Forestry Commission, became law. The stage was set. A start could be made in earnest to implement the committee's proposals which had been framed " in the interests of national safety."
The first commissioners were appointed in November 1919 and £3 1/2 million provided to cover their work in the first decade (a remarkably small sum by present standards). Largely inspired by Roy Lister Robinson -an Australian, a knowledgeable forester, Ministry of Agriculture inspector, and above all a visionary - the commission set about its task with enthusiasm and purpose. All this activity, however, might well have been in vain. Three years after the establishment of the commission a Committee on National Expenditure made recommendations for widespread cuts in public spending and went so far as to recommend the abolition of the Forestry Commission and its work. The Government decided otherwise but, nevertheless, there was less money to spend, the planting programme was slashed and in its place the commission was required to concentrate on providing work for the unemployed. Two years were to pass before a return to the original programme was approved.
In these somewhat more settled conditions the Forestry Commission pressed ahead. Land was purchased or leased and, with the recognized trend toward the use of softwoods in industry, these species were widely used (though with some hardwoods) in the ensuing years. By 1939, 655 000 acres (261 000 hectares) of plantable land had been acquired and 370 000 acres (150 000 hectares) planted; both these figures came creditably near to the figures originally planned.
The fateful year of 1939 not surprisingly brought with it a major setback for the Forestry Commission. History was repeating itself in a quarter of a century, with submarines once more taking heavy toll of British and allied shipping and their cargoes. Again, to help offset the interference with timber supplies from overseas it was the older, privately owned woodlands that had to be sacrificed to provide a vital material of war. A Home Timber Production Department was set up, and all extensive planting or other developments by the Forestry Commission virtually ceased though it was necessary to maintain the management of the young, then largely unproductive plantations. The strategic build-up of an adequate reserve of homegrown timber had come to a halt-but only for the time being.
In 1943 there appeared another document, equally if not more important than the report of the original committee. This was a parliamentary White Paper entitled Post-war forest policy. Taking into account that by 1943 the war was by no means over and indeed the outcome was quite unforeseeable, it was a bold and imaginative publication. It emanated from the forestry commissioners of the day but was very much the brainchild of Roy Lister Robinson, who was to become Sir Roy Robinson and, in due course, Lord Robinson of Kielder Forest and Adelaide, and who was in fact Technical Commissioner from 1919-32 and thereafter Chairman of the Forestry Commission for 20 years until his sudden death in Canada during a Commonwealth Forestry Conference. The paper analysed all the considerations basic to the promotion of a successful forest industry in the United Kingdom, not only from the point of view of state forestry but also that of private forestry, whose importance and interests could hardly be neglected in tile light of its remarkable contribution to the war effort in 1914-18 and currently. Some of the proposals for the future of forestry were ambitious but had the realism and authority that sprang from more than 20 years' practical experience of promoting forestry on a national basis. One major, though tentative recommendation was that the ultimate objective be fixed at 5 million acres (2 million hectares) of effective forest (in other words well-managed, productive woodland) by the turn of the century. It was thought that 2 million acres (800 000 hectares) could be obtained through the rehabilitation of existing woodlands and 3 million acres (1.2 million hectares) by the afforestation of bare land. The total of 5 million acres, it was held, would ultimately produce the equivalent of 35 percent of the country's timber needs as well as providing a reserve for any major eventuality.
The proposals that 2 million acres of productive forest should come from existing woods obviously implied the restocking of those in private ownership. To this end a scheme was devised which was probably unique. This was described as the Dedication of Woodlands Scheme, a not uninspiring title for those concerned to see that their forests continued to serve the nation in peace as well as war. Through this scheme, a participating owner was required to use his land in such a way that timber production -was the main objective; to work to a plan approved by the Forestry Commission, which would set out the main operations to be undertaken; to employ skilled supervision; and to keep adequate accounts. In return for all this the State would agree to provide financial help. In due course, when the scheme came into being, such aid was obtainable on one of two optional bases-a fixed planting grant or 25 percent of the owner's net annual expenditure on his forest operations; loans were available in certain circumstances and, additionally, free technical advice was forthcoming from the Forestry Commission's field officers.
This scheme has, in fact, gone from strength to strength and, although it has been subject to some amendments, its pattern is relatively unchanged from that outlined 25 years ago. By 1967 some 876 000 acres (350 000 hectares) in 3 000 separate dedication schemes were under management, most owners having opted to receive the fixed planting grant (and, as a fairly recent innovation, grants in addition). A further scheme for approved woodlands, not originally proposed, now offers a planting grant only and is supported to a considerable extent by private owners who for one reason or another do not wish to dedicate their woods.
For a diversity of valid reasons the planting programmes. as set out decade by decade in Post-war forest policy for the Forestry Commission and the private sector, have not been reached. Nevertheless, tile past 23 years have been marked by a great acceleration of progress on both sides. The Forestry Commission has carried out about three fifths of its planned total planting since 1945. The extent of planting has fluctuated at times due to difficulties in acquiring land in certain parts of the country, but in recent years it has been running at an annual rate of well over 50 000 acres (20000 hectares). By 1967 the Forestry Commission's estate included, in addition to the forests, some 840 000 acres (320 000 hectares) unsuitable for afforestation, comprising in the main mountain tops in Scotland and Wales, which had to be taken over with the better land as major acquisitions were made. There were also 310 000 acres (124 000 hectares) suitable for planting but not yet afforested; this area formed an essential reserve for the continuity of operations and such land is augmented as each yearly quota is planted up.
Much of the Forestry Commission's tree planting has taken place in upland areas in the northern part of England, in the Scottish Highlands and the Welsh hills-in other words on land of least value for grazing livestock. Although inhospitable for agricultural crops, such soils are now supporting a variety of thriving conifers. Consequently, reference must again be made to Roy Lister Robinson and his ingenuity and foresight. It was he who, after hand draining and turf planting had been employed, initiated the process of deep ploughing and draining of the hillsides as a prerequisite to planting. In fact, the first plough to be used for this purposes was designed by him. Seen in this modern age of machinery this plough might be regarded as a fragile caricature of those now in use. But anyone standing on those windswept slopes in the earlier years would have seen history in the making as that machine, drawn by horses, went its way. It did the job well enough to indicate beyond doubt that ploughing would be the answer to the problems of successfully establishing trees on erstwhile barren or near-barren land.
Nowadays giant ploughs pulled by powerful tractors have replaced the puny equipment of yesterday. The young trees are planted in the overturned ridge thrown up by the ploughs which make deep drains in the moor-land. As a result, the trees not only occupy well-aerated sites but the roots, in developing, have the benefit of the fresh humus formed by the vegetation which decays in the centre of the " sandwich. " Phosphatic fertilizers are nearly always applied to aid early growth.
It has been said that in this technique of intensive hill planting the United Kingdom has led the world, though the process originated in the 1930s in trials of the Belgian method of draining combined with planting on turf.
The commission's 400 or so forests are well distributed over England, Scotland and Wales. There are one or more forests in every county rural but the larger forests, or groups of forests, are to be found in the hill country where large tracts of land have become available in one or more acquisitions. In the north of England is Kielder Forest, some 72 000 acres (29 000 hectares) in extent when the agricultural and unplantable land it embraces is taken into account. The area under plantation is 48 000 acres (19 000 hectares). This is the largest of all the Forestry Commission's forests, being well known to many visiting foresters from overseas. It is believed to be the biggest man-made forest in Europe, though this statement may be open to challenge.
In eastern England is the modernized Sherwood Forest, renowned for the exploits of a famous outlaw, the quixotic Robin Hood. There is also Thetford Chase, with its 47 000 acres (nearly 19 000 hectares) planted in this case on low Breckland, by which name the sandy soils of the area are known. Great forests, too, have been formed in Wales; one, Coed Morgannwg, is large enough to perpetuate -the title of its county, Glamorgan.
In Scotland the greatest concentration of Forestry Commission forests lies in the Highlands along the Great Glen, a locality which runs from Inverness to Fort William. Thus tourists from many countries, making the journey through the glen toward the west coast, halt to admire the great new forests that grace the scenery besides such features of the landscape as Loch Ness-home of the legendary Loch Ness monster.
It is well known that, without the use of exotic conifers, the United Kingdom would be almost bankrupt in homegrown softwood. Some reference, therefore, should be made to the major species planted by- the Forestry Commission starting, paradoxically, with the only native timber-producing conifer, the Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.). This is widely used for it has considerable tolerance of soil and site and does better than most other softwoods on the less fertile heather-clad moors. It has only a moderate rate of growth but thinnings of all sizes are marketable.
Of those trees which have entered the United Kingdom at some time or other in its history, the Corsican pine (Pinus nigra var. maritima Melville) thrives in the warm, dry conditions that are found on the country's eastern side. It does well in lowlands with a small rainfall and warm summer, and produces more timber to the acre than does the native Scots pine. It, has proved particularly valuable in the afforestation of sand dunes and, in fact, is almost exclusively to be seen in Culbin Forest, on the Moray Firth in Scotland, which has been successfully formed on pure sand. The Forestry Commission's venture in planting this area has attracted the interest of countries which have special problems in the shifting and stabilization of sand.
In the early 1600s this part of the coastline of the Moray Firth was rich agricultural land, supporting some 16 farmsteads. :But in a single night, so historians say, the entire locality was submerged by great quantities of sand blown inland during a violent storm. This, it seemed, was the result of the crofters' persistent habit over the years of pulling up the marram grass, which had held the sand, for the purpose of thatching their cottages. Whatever the basic cause, since that fatal night nothing has 'been seen of the buildings or the land on which they stood.
In 1926 the Forestry Commission acquired the sand dunes-at that time popularly known as the Scottish desert-and set about afforesting them after " thatching " the sand with great quantities of brushwood brought in from the surrounding countryside and pegged down with wire. Given shelter from the strong prevailing winds by the brushwood amid which they were planted, the young trees prospered and today the timber yield from Culbin Forest provides a useful source of supply of pitwood for some of the Scottish coal mines.
The growth of Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Douglas) has been intensively tested by the Research Branch of the Forestry Commission and is used to much greater extent than in the early days of afforestation, some 15 000 acres (6 000 hectares) being planted annually. Coastal strains show surprising tolerance to severe exposure and high rainfall on peaty soils in the north and west of the country, where no other trees will thrive. There are indications that its timber may prove the equal of Scots pine.
The main species of spruce are Norway spruce (Picea abies Karsten) and Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis Carr). The former does not flourish on acid heaths with pure heather or on very acid peats, and it cannot stand severe exposure. Elsewhere, however, it is a rapid producer of useful timber, with the thinnings very suitable for paper pulp and chipboard. Current planting of this tree by the Forestry Commission is at the rate of 5 000 acres (2 000 hectares) a year and a great deal is also planted on private estates. The Sitka spruce, however, is used to a much greater extent, and some 25 000 acres (10 000 hectares) are planted annually by the commission. It is more resistant to exposure at high elevation or near the sea; it tolerates considerably more acid peats or heathy vegetation; and it produces timber more quickly than Norway spruce, though this is mainly used for the same purposes. Rapid height growth is common, many trees only 30 years old exceeding 100 feet.
Experience of the European larch, (Larix decidua Miller), although planted more widely in the past than at present, is that it has been a success only on selected fertile and well-watered sites, away from severe exposure. On the other hand, Japanese larch (Larix leptolepis Gord) has done much better. It grows more quickly in youth and stands more exposure and tolerates less fertile soils than the European species. It has proved very useful for planting on hillsides covered with bracken fern. Hybrid larch (Larix eurolepis Henry) merits special attention. A natural cross between the European and Japanese larches, it was discovered at Dunkeld in Scotland in 1904. At present its planting is limited by shortage of seed, but this should be remedied now that the Forestry Commission has formed seed orchards to ensure sufficient supplies of first generation hybrid seed.
On selected ground the western North American conifer, Douglas fir (Pseudotsuqa menziesii Franco), does well. It likes fertile slopes, preferably on former woodland, but on all but the firmest ground it is susceptible to windthrow. Nevertheless, its rate of timber production is rapid.
Regard for the native hardwoods, notably the oak and to a lesser degree the beech, still amounts among some members of the British public almost to idolatry. Nevertheless, it is being recognized that hardwoods have but a small place nowadays in meeting the country's industrial needs of timber, though acceptance of large areas of conifers has been a long and gradual process. Once it was not uncommon to hear newly planted woods described as " regimented rows of conifers," unnatural in the British rural scene. But to give him his due, the British forester is a much more enlightened man than he was in the days when all was subordinated to the growing of more timber predominantly as a reserve against emergency. It is appreciated that he has now a built-in regard for amenity and the Forestry Commission's own good faith in this respect has recently been emphasized by the fact that it has appointed its own landscape architect who is one of the most eminent persons in her field in the world. She has paid numerous and extensive visits to the forests and, has made many valuable proposals and in her book, Forestry and the landscape, her observations provide evidence that the forester has gone some way to ensure that his trees follow the contours of the hills, that where economically possible a diversity of species is used to ensure a pleasing gradation of colour and tint, and that in some cases strategically sited hardwoods can surround or edge softwood plantations and make a useful contribution to amenity. Still more consideration for the appearance of the countryside will no doubt be seen as the years go by.
As for more planting, the current aim is to afforest a further 500 000 acres (200 000 hectares) in the decade 1967-76. There is to be continued concentration on acquiring plantable land in upland areas, where the population has been declining and where the expansion of forestry can bring considerable employment and social benefits. The volume of timber produced by Forestry Commission estates in 1967 increased by more than 8 percent over the previous year to well over a million tons. By 1980 the amount of softwood round-wood is expected to reach about 2.5 million tons and production on these estates will by that time be nearly double that of private woodlands. Three years later, taking small roundwood and sawlogs together from Forestry Commission woods, the output may be about 3.5 million tons.
There has been nothing fortuitous in the fact that as the production of timber from state forests and private estates has risen, so have new wood-using industries been established in various parts of the country to consume the produce. More than a decade ago the Forestry Commission enlisted the aid of Canadian consultants, who were asked to examine the prospects of establishing pulp mills in the United Kingdom and, although certain problems were envisaged, it has also maintained the closest possible cooperation with commercial interests, with the result that demand for homegrown timber is more or less matching output. The new undertakings include a large pulp and paper mill at Fort William, in the Western Highlands of Scotland, an area which in the past has suffered from depopulation. This mill, which has been built with government support and represents a total investment of some £20 million, uses nearly 270 000 tons of pulpwood from Scottish forests each year, taking supplies from both state and private woods. Homegrown timber is also going into factories which produce various kinds of chipboard and, to a lesser degree, wood wool. A number of traditional markets have also to be supplied; although the wooden pitprop has been largely supplanted by the steel substitute, the country's coal mines still combine to provide the largest single customer for home-grown timber.
The Forestry Commission's Research Station, Alice Holt Lodge, is within 40 miles of London and has in a relatively remarkably short time earned for itself an international reputation. Its experiments and field trials are carried out, in many forests and nurseries. The main subject of investigation is silviculture, but other sections concentrate on economics and working plans, genetics, pathology, entomology, forest machinery development, utilization of timber, measuring of tree crops, studies of growth and yield, and stocktaking of woodlands. Hitherto the main fields of research have been the raising of young trees in the nurseries and their planting and establishment in the forests, which has been essential to the success of large-scale afforestation. It is of interest that as a result plants suitable for use in the forest are, now raised in two years instead of three or four as previously. Soil preparation by ploughing has received continuous attention, so that land thought unsuitable for planting as recently as 10 years ago can now he afforested. The emphasis of research, however, :is not surprisingly moving toward problems of management and utilization and the research station is equipped with computers to help deal with these in the speediest way. Alice Holt Lodge, it is thought, may have been one of the first establishments of its kind to install such modern aids. In the light of research successes, it is of some moment that, by the close of the Forestry Commission's first 50 years, work will be extended from a new northern research centre which is being built near Edinburgh in Scotland.
A high proportion of the Forestry Commission's woods are vulnerable to fire, the risk of which can be extremely high in the early months of the year when the previous year's vegetation will, in wind, become tinder-dry in a matter of hours, even after fairly heavy rain. This has had to be taken into account in considering the matter of public access to the woods. The general policy, however, is that visitors are welcome in most forests, provided they obey the country code. The public is displaying great interest in the forests nowadays, so much so that there are signs of development of a forest sense which, if not yet entirely comparable to that which is such a marked quality in some other countries, is nevertheless welcome. In the last few years the Forestry Commission has done much to provide facilities for public enjoyment, not least by the widespread provision of picnic sites and car parks, for private vehicles are not permitted on the forest roads. Many forest walks and-nature trails have been laid out.
The popularity of these has indicated a growing public interest in the study of flora and fauna and to encourage this still further a start has been made in the provision of treetops observation cabins from which naturalists, professional and otherwise, may at dawn and dusk see deer and other wildlife descend to the nearby lake. One of these observation posts has been erected in woods within a few miles of one of the most densely populated areas of the industrial midlands, and is finding favour with townsmen and country people alike.
Some of the bigger areas of forest, or groups of forests, have for a long while now been designated as forest parks, each well equipped with camping sites. Today, with a longer weekend and holiday exodus from town to countryside' these parks and their facilities are being appreciated by greater numbers of people than ever before. There are eight of them and together with the seemingly inaptly named New Forest-established in 1079 and described as " a miraculous survival of pre-Norman England " - they provide 600 000 acres (240 000 hectares) for public recreation in some of the most picturesque land in Britain.
Enough may have been said to indicate that some special celebration by Britain's young forest authority of the 1969 Jubilee Year is justified. In each of the Forestry Commission's conservancies in England, Scotland and Wales are being held open days or weeks, with organized tours for visitors who will be able to gain some impression of the asset they have in the national forest estate. To mark the occasion, the commission has issued a booklet entitled Timber: Your growing investment. Some conservancies are arranging exhibitions including one in Wales to mark the great contribution the afforested hills of the Principality have made to the Forestry Commission's overall progress.
The major event, however, is an exhibition on a site of more than 100 acres near Edinburgh, on 5, 6 and 7 June. It was taken into account, in deciding to hold the exhibition in Scotland, that in that country the Forestry Commission holds some 1.5 million acres (607 000 hectares) of land, of which half has been placed under trees; and, as stated earlier, Scotland is to see greatly increased planting programmes in future. In arranging this jubilee event the Forestry Commission has been faced with something of a challenge for, as far as can be ascertained, not since 1884 has Scotland had a really large forestry exhibition. In that year Scottish foresters joined to organize a display on open ground in the city itself. This venture had Queen Victoria as patron and proved remarkably successful in that it was visited by upward of half a million people over the three and a half months that it remained open. In addition to exhibits from Scottish estates, many came from countries of the then British Empire and from Scandinavia, and it is possible to see from old records that Japan was also represented. Florida, too, showed her forestry " flag " with " beautiful exhibits of curled pitch pine and pencil cedar wood. " There was a link with timber utilization half a century ahead, for some European countries and a few British exhibitors sent along what made " the finest display of wood papermaking material, and its various processes of manufacture, that had ever been seen."
The Forestry Commission's 1969 exhibition is intended to be a shop window for British forestry and for timber and its uses together with ancillary interests. Whereas the displays of nearly 85 years ago were largely static and showed a degree of uniformity, this will not be the case. Staged under the title " Forestry and the Countryside, " all aspects of the forest and timber industries will be covered, including modern techniques and the use of the latest machinery. Forestry and public recreation and the conservation of wildlife will also be featured and many official bodies and organizations concerned in diverse ways with the use and well-being of the countryside will be among the exhibitors.
The United Kingdom draws considerably on the knowledge and experience of countries in Europe and elsewhere in the world with long histories and traditions of forestry. It is hoped that, in turn and despite a comparatively short existence, the British Forestry Commission has been able to make a contribution of some value to the general pool of knowledge of world forestry.
