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.
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.
Fine Today, Disastrous Tomorrow: The Wisdom of Balance
Truth is, we don’t always know what we don’t know even if we are well-trained and well-intentioned scientists or foresters. The Division made its recommendations based on what they knew at the time. Unfortunately for our forests, we are continuing to pay the price for these good intentions.
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.