Milling indigenous timber in accordance with Personal Use Approvals and Milling Certificates
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Published July 2007
Harvesting and milling small volumes of indigenous timber
Part IIIA of the Forests Act 1949 promotes the long-term sustainability of privately owned indigenous forest through Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) Plans and Permits. However, the Sawmill Controls within Part IIIA contain provisions that allow for Milling Certificates or Personal Use Approvals to harvest and mill indigenous timber in one-off situations from areas that are not subject to registered SFM Plans or Permits.
These provisions cover timber harvested or milled under the following categories:
- for an owner's personal use;
- from specified Māori land;
- from land managed by the Crown (for example, approved for cultural use from the conservation estate);
- from a planted indigenous forest;
- arising from a public work, a mining operation, construction or maintenance of an accessway or scientific research;
- first milled before 1 July 1993;
- from salvaged and windthrown trees;
- from dead trees;
- from a forest subject to a forest sink covenant (such as a Permanent Forest Sink Initiative forest);
- from tree ferns.
Before milling timber under any of the above categories you must first obtain a written Personal Use Approval or a Milling Certificate from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF). This guide lists the information required by MAF to support an application for harvesting and milling indigenous timber falling into any of the above categories.
An inspection may be necessary before an approval or milling certificate is issued. MAF reserves the right with all applications to inspect the timber on site prior to harvesting or milling.
Approval to harvest and mill for personal use
The personal use harvesting and milling provision applies only to the owner of an area of land with indigenous forest that is not subject to an SFM Plan or Permit. Where the land has multiple owners, only one Approval will be granted. Under this provision the owner may apply to harvest and mill up to 50 cubic metres of roundwood in any 10-year period. The owner can not sell or trade timber harvested or milled for personal use.
An application to harvest and mill indigenous timber for personal use should be made on the “Personal Use Application Form”. The application should contain the following:
- name, address and contact phone number of the applicant;
- land ownership details (such as a current copy of the Certificate of Title of the land);
- map showing the location of the land where the timber is to be harvested from;
- a description of the intended use of the timber;
- detail of trees to be harvested, including:
- species,
-
tree number (it is suggested the trees intended for harvest are numbered with spray paint or crayon),
-
estimated volume of each tree (roundwood volume in cubic metres), or alternatively the diameter at breast height (taken at 1.4 metres up the tree on the uphill side), and merchantable height taken to where branching precludes milling,
-
geographical positioning system (GPS) co-ordinates or, if it is not possible to provide GPS co-ordinates, a map or aerial photograph showing the location of the tree(s) to be harvested will be sufficient;
- good quality photographs and any other information that may be of assistance in processing the application.
| No trees should be felled or removed prior to the applicant receiving a written Personal Use Approval. |
Milling certificates
An application to mill timber from the other categories listed should be made on the “Other Timber Application Form”. The application should contain the following:
- name, address and contact phone number of person/landowner/company applying;
- land ownership details (such as a copy of the Certificate of Title of the land or Rates Demand);
- map showing the location of the land where the timber is to be harvested from;
- the category of timber to be milled (such as salvaged, windthrown, dead, accessway);
- species to be milled;
- number of trees of each species to be milled;
- estimated total volume of each species (roundwood volume in cubic metres);
- GPS locations and/or map or aerial photograph showing the location of the tree(s) to be milled;
- proof of entitlement to the timber where the applicant is not the owner of the land (such as a letter from the controlling agency such as a District Council where logs are to be removed from a riverbed);
- good quality photographs and any other information that may be of assistance in processing the application.
| MAF recommends that trees are not felled or removed prior to receiving a milling certificate. |
Application forms can be downloaded from www.maf.govt.nz or can be obtained from MAF’s Indigenous Forestry Unit offices in Christchurch and Rotorua.
Additional responsibilities
As part of the Personal Use Approval process, which takes six to eight weeks, MAF must consult with the Department of Conservation (DOC). In most instances MAF will inspect and measure the trees to be harvested. MAF does not consult with DOC for Milling Certificates, which normally take three to four weeks to process. Applicants should allow sufficient time if making milling arrangements prior to receiving an Approval or Certificate.
It is the applicant’s responsibility to obtain any resource consents that may be necessary under the Resource Management Act 1991 for felling or clearance of indigenous vegetation. Please contact your regional and district council for information on resource consents.
The Approval or Certificate must be supplied with the logs to the registered sawmill that will mill the timber. Landowners with their own sawmill must register that mill with MAF and obtain an Approval or Certificate even if they only intend milling timber from their own land.
Terms used in the Forests Act: what they mean
Owner’s personal use: Timber milled expressly for use by the landowner.
Dead: Trees (standing or otherwise) that have died as a result of natural causes. There must not be any green foliage on the tree.
Salvage: Trees felled to waste before 3 July 1989 or stumps or roots remaining from any trees felled before 3 July 1989. The timber must be taken from an area that is not indigenous forest land.
Windthrown: Trees that have become windthrown as a result of natural causes.
Accessway: Trees removed for establishment or maintenance of a bona fide accessway. Trees felled to enable the construction of a permanent fenceline may be included under this category.
Mining: Timber removed as a result of a bona fide mining operation.
Further information
For further information refer to the following publications (available on www.maf.govt.nz):
- Indigenous Forestry Sustainable Management - A Guide to Preparing Draft Sustainable Forest Management Plans, Sustainable Forest Management Permit Applications and Annual Logging Plans
- Standards and Guidelines for the Sustainable Management of Indigenous Forests
- Indigenous Forestry on Private Land: Present Trends and Future Potential
- Indigenous Forestry on Private land: Sustainable indigenous forest management in accordance with Part IIIA of the Forests Act 1949
Contact for Enquiries
Indigenous Forestry Unit
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
14 Sir William Pickering Drive
PO Box 20 280
Bishopdale
Christchurch 8053
NEW ZEALAND
Tel: 64 3 943 3700
Fax: 64 3 943 3701
Te Papa Tipu Innovation Park
99 Sala Street
PO Box 1340
Rotorua
NEW ZEALAND
Tel: 64 7 921 3400
Fax: 64 7 921 3401
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