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Read IFA’s blog to learn about the latest Ecoblitz science, advocacy opportunities, or legislative work in support of Indiana’s public forests.
“I owe it to these forests … I know they are what saved me.”
It’s important to keep fighting for the trees. They need us and we need them.
In Defense of the Endangered Species Act
But now, in the U.S. House, a barrage of nine bills have been introduced to weaken the law, and one bill draft has been released in the Senate. Furthermore, Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke has also just released a series of regulatory rollbacks to the ESA.
“The Gradual Destruction of Indiana’s Longest Footpath”: A Knobstone Trail Hiker Speaks Out
Tangles of briers and weeds, not new trees, filled in the areas I hiked through. All of these areas will take many decades to recover. What does the DNR do to restore the ecosystem and encourage the proper types of plants to grow in these damaged areas?
Authentic Public Input on Public Forest Planning
As a forester, ecologist, and former legislator in Wisconsin, I’ve tried to offer another perspective on Indiana forest issues. We expect our public forests to produce a variety of benefits for citizens, and forest managers must play a critical role in satisfying multiple uses while keeping forests healthy and resilient. As the impacts of climate change and invasive species increasingly affect our forests, that work becomes even more important and more challenging.
A Call to Action: Owen-Putnam State Forest
On June 11, IFA intern Anna Hopkins took her camera to Owen-Putnam State Forest to survey two soon-to-be-logged forest tracts with members of Owen-Putnam Friends of the Forest.
The Farm Bill Is Back. Let’s Thank Sen. Donnelly For Keeping Logging Out of It.
Now is the time to thank Indiana Senator Joe Donnelly in advance for helping to craft a bipartisan bill that will “keep the bill clean” and resist any amendments that cater to special interests — such as the logging industry.
A Future for our Neighborhood Forests
Urban forests clean the air, cool the surrounding neighborhood, offer places to play, andreduce life’s stress. They provide a refuge for migrating birds and a place in a city for nature to thrive.
What You Can Do to Fight a Major New Attack on the Hoosier National Forest
This key bill is under consideration now in the U.S. House of Representatives, and it is a full-frontal assault on your national forests, including our own Hoosier National Forest.
A Letter to Members of the City-County Council of Indianapolis re: Haverstick Woods
IFA has reviewed the “Preliminary DP Plan 2016-ZON-020” for the proposed agreement negotiated between Keystone Realty Group and supporters of this development and compared this plan to the plan currently authorized in this 2006 zoning document, commonly known as the “Kite Development.”
From Lichens to Flying Squirrels: Ecoblitz Results Reveal Complexity of an Older Indiana Forest
This relatively undisturbed forest in the Back Country Area (BCA) of Morgan-Monroe State Forest has great species complexity and high species richness in the absence of intense forest management. One tract of Yellowwood has been logged, but other parts of the BCA remain intact for now, and IFA will continue the Ecoblitz in these unlogged areas.