Preserving Our Way Out of the Climate Crisis
We were saddened to learn that logging may be harvesting many of the mature trees in Indiana’s State Forests. This is especially true of Salamonie River State Forest.
In Defense of the Endangered Species Act
But now, in the U.S. House, a barrage of nine bills have been introduced to weaken the law, and one bill draft has been released in the Senate. Furthermore, Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke has also just released a series of regulatory rollbacks to the ESA.
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.
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.
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.
228 Scientists to Gov. Holcomb: “Conserve major portions of our state forests”
The 228 scientists are urging Gov. Holcomb to set aside areas from timber harvest and reduce the rate of logging in state forests.
“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.
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 […]
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.