64 | Challenges ahead in current climate Nelson Forest Managers manage approximately 5000 hectares of exotic forests, for around 50 clients. FORESTRY Nelson Forest Managers T T Huigh de Lacy The recently imposed US trade tariffs may have implications for New Zealand timber exporters, according to Matt Stuart, the founder and owner of Brightwater-based Nelson Forest Managers. Matt says there is already evidence of a hit on log and shipping prices. “On the downside we have seen prices dip in the wake of the announcements, but since China has stopped some log imports from the US there might be some upside in the China trade,” Matt says. “Of course it’s very hard to say, and nobody seems to know if Trump is entirely committed to his tariffs, or if he just sees them as a bargaining point. “Either way, his policies are a possible blow to the current log industry that comprises one of this country’s biggest export items. “All the world markets are sliding, and we’ve definitely already seen a drag on prices from March to April,” Matt says. For a man who has been active in the New Zealand forestry sector from childhood, the possible fallout is the biggest challenge to the industry’s viability, at least since the Covid-indueced recession. Matt’s father, Dougal Stuart, had become involved in forestry in the early 1970s, and Matt was out learning to plant trees with him soon after starting primary school. He went straight into his father’s silviculture business in 1989 during high-school holidays, was self-employed by 1992, and started Nelson Forest Managers in 2000 because “I really enjoy trees and the challenge of creating a unique and beautiful forest”. Today, his company employs five staff and several subcontractors to manage approximately 5000 hectares of exotic forests, for around 50 clients. They include farmers, mum-and-dad and larger investors, and some people new to the forestry industry, with the company servicing a range of requirements from buying and selling timber to performing valuations and providing information on emissions levels. “I’m really keen on forest diversity – that’s my specialty – and I have a strong sense of where trees should and shouldn’t be,” Matt says. “Of course, radiata is the main species grown, but long before the Cyclone Gabrielle disaster with all the slips and slash, it seemed obvious to me that we need to diversify our planting to reflect the growing environmental challenges. “Planting redwoods, for example, is much more ecologically sustainable then radiata, because redwood roots stay alive even after the tree has been felled. In doing so, they stabilise the land around them, whereas radiata stumps rot, allowing moisture to build up in the root space, and in the event of heavy rain those spaces generate slips. “That makes radiata just a temporary fix for land stabilisation, making something like redwoods or Douglas fir or oaks are a longer-lasting alternative,” Matt says. FITTING NEW EQUIPMENT INTO YOUR BUSINESS www.tdf.nz | 7/38 Ellis Street, Brightwater, Nelson
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