Gambling with our Natural Heritage
That is what our Governor is doing. Gambling with your and your grandchildren’s future: our natural heritage and the species that depend upon us.
DNR Plays Defense as Public Pressure Mounts on Gov. Holcomb
Using single-tree selection now, and 20 years from now, and another 20 years from now, meaning the forest — which could have be considered an old-growth forest roughly 30 years from now — will never get the chance to become old.
Brown County Artist to Gov. Holcomb: “Preserve the closed canopy forest”
Cutting the forest is like cutting the soul out of the heart of the people.
Next Steps After the Moral Victory at Yellowwood
“The debate about our state forests is about politics,” said IFA Executive Director Jeff Stant in a statement to the media. It’s about quality of life in Indiana, the conservation of our heritage, and public input in a democracy. We must insist that some of our state forests remain forever wild, for our emotional well-being and the survival of many declining forest-dependent species.
“Dear Division of Forestry…”
We disagree heartily with many assertions in the letter. Below, IFA Executive Director Jeff Stant addresses every point in this six-page rebuttal. Here’s Seifert’s letter, with highlights of Stant’s rebuttal inserted in blue.
In Defense of Outdoor Recreation: Tourism Leaders Speak Out for State Forests
According to the latest U.S. Census Data, more than two million people live within 20 miles of Indiana’s state forests and more than 14.5 million people live within 100 miles of our state forests. If the state forests were seen as desirable destinations, more outfitters, bed & breakfasts, and cafes would spring up. The 59% of Hoosiers who participate in outdoor recreation are an untapped market for our state forests.
A Matter of Heritage: A Forest with Civil War-Era Trees Should Not Be Logged
In the Yellowwood Backcountry Area, there stands a tree older than our nation. It’s an American Beech, 33 inches (almost three feet) in diameter. This tree, we discovered, is 238 […]
Defending Your Right to Wilderness Recreation: 5 More Actions You Can Take
This 2,700 acre BCA is the largest tract of old forest left in our state forests since logging was escalated by 400% over the last 12 years to restore 30% of the DOF’s budget cut by the Legislature. The oldest trees in this tract are 130 to 160 years old.
Citizens to Gov. Holcomb: “Value of our state forests cannot be measured in board feet & dollars”
Here, we share powerful excerpts of messages from outraged citizens to Gov. Holcomb’s office.
Tell the Governor Now: It’s Wrong to Log this Brown County Forest, and Here’s Why
The plans will log the most remote and pristine hollow which contains tulip poplars, sugar maples and northern red oaks between 150 and 200 years old. IFA conducts part of our Ecoblitz flora/fauna survey in this area, and we know it to be exceptionally diverse in terms of animal and plant life.