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.
Box Turtles: Looking for Love is Easier in Contiguous Forests
A forest healthy enough to sustain Box Turtles will also be home to a diverse community. That forest will support such a variety of animals, plants and microbes with such complex interactions that the old phrase web of life only begins to describe them.
Against DNR’s Proposed Bobcat Hunting/Trapping Season
This change in policy is not grounded in solid science.
Rx for Haverstick Woods: Creative Problem-Solving
A mutually-acceptable development is possible on the Haverstick tract. It could be an exemplar of green infrastructure paired with appropriately-scaled building, as we seek to create a more sustainable, resilient City per its 2020 Bicentennial Vision.