Trees, Joy & Grief: A Meditation on Logging
These magnificent trees are not a crop. They are home to a myriad of plant and animal life. Trees give us shade. They block noise pollution. Trees clean our soil and provide life-giving oxygen. They provide us inspiration, beauty and the rejuvenation of our spirits.
Crown Hill North Woods: Saved Today, Preserved Tomorrow?
On May 5, we learned that the amazing old-growth forest at Crown Hill North Woods will not be razed for the VA’s columbaria project.
“Moving the Product Quicker?”: In Defense of Owen-Putnam State Forest
In March, the Spencer Evening World (the newspaper of record in Owen County) published a front page article in which the Owen-Putnam State Forest property manager was quoted extensively… Two frequent users of the forest (both IFA members) wrote letters to the editor in response, the first of them published April 29, the other awaiting publication.
The Ecoblitz: A Lichenologist’s View
Habitat loss, deforestation, and pollution have already greatly impacted many lichen species in the United States, such that it is now more important than ever to understand where individual species occur and how rare they are.
A Check By a Branch of Government on Agency Misfeasance, Finally
And too often, the courts defer to agencies under the legal doctrine of presumption of administrative expertise. In their wide discretion, judges conveniently say that they are loathe to substitute their judgement for that of the officials who are presumed to be expert.
The Crown Hill North Woods: An Ecological Jewel
Just as the inscriptions on the grave markers are a reminder of, and tribute to, our forbearers, the woods are a legacy of the past, linking generations. Woods of this size and quality are not found in many places in central Indiana.
Indiana’s Forests: For The People
We submit that SB 420 is not telling our foresters how to practice silviculture or stopping logging in our state forests at all. Rather, the legislature established our state forests originally for the public benefit of all and therefore has a legitimate role to play in establishing the objectives that state forests should serve.
An Aversion to Nature’s Nouns
Stewardship requires emotional commitment, requires that we love what we steward. Increasingly we exercise control over the material world, without knowing what we are controlling, accelerating the exploitation of nature, thereby decreasing true stewardship.
How Much Forest Do Other States Set Aside from Logging?
Senate Bill 420 would set aside a small portion, 10%, of Indiana’s state forestland to be off limits to logging. Here’s an inside look as to how public forests are being managed outside of Indiana.
A Smaller Portion of a Small Pie
We had a list of compartments and tracts that were protected from logging so we knew exactly where they were. But then DNR changed their minds. They no longer recognize those Old Forest areas and some of those tracts have now been logged.