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.
Protecting the Unknown
Old-growth forests provided habitat that support rare biological diversity and unique assemblages of animals, plants, and fungi that are found nowhere else but in old-growth forests.
A Chance to Preserve Rich Species Diversity
In the time that we have been identifying the specimens collected, it has become very clear that we have very limited knowledge of how many species exist in our Indiana forests. Efforts of the IFA, with help of scientists from many different institutions, have led to one conclusion: without preserving large tracts of old-growth forests, we could lose hundreds of thousands of species that rely on these forest habitats for survival.
A Bill For Our Children
One of the places I was privileged to have this kind of forest experience was in Ferdinand State Forest, which is a reasonable distance from where I live. Sharing this with my child and now grandchildren has been especially precious to me. Please help insure this opportunity is available to their children.
A Forest Health Bill
It is inaccurate to think of Senate Bill 420 as an anti-timber bill. It certainly would be wrong to think of Senate Bill 420 as an anti-hunting bill.
It is a forest health bill.
SB 420: A Voice of Support
It’s imperative that we keep these forests intact and continuing because they are among the oldest communities of organisms present in Indiana.
The Marred Face of the Knobstone Trail
As a horseman, I had traveled the tree-laden path of Deam Lake hundreds of times. Now as a hiker, I find myself traveling down that same path, but it is unrecognizable to me. The joy of the path is now replaced with mud, stumps, and piles of wasted logging byproduct.