State Forest Logging Issues

The Indiana Forest Alliance is the watchdog of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry. We monitor the commercial timber sale program on Indiana’s publicly owned state forests, continuously building a case and advocating for drastic reform of the management of state forests. The Division of Forestry currently operates under the principles and guidance of a 100 year old charter. This outdated direction fails to adequately value the ecological benefits of state forests as recreational refuge, interior forest habitat, and a clean water origin. In order to protect and enhance these values we must end the commercial logging of Indiana’s state forests.

In early 2002, thanks to the efforts of the Indiana Forest Alliance and other friends, State Representative Mark Kruzan (D-61) introduced the first ever legislation to do just that. The bill did not make it out of the natural resources committee, but it did provoke the Governor’s office and the highest administrators of the DNR to meet with us and begin to develop a formal process of public input and right of appeal. As of August 2003, that process is still not in place.

Our experience has been that most people are not even aware that logging occurs on our state forests. They see the purposes of these forests as being for recreation, wildlife habitat, clean air, and clean water. The public does not want the trees from our forests to be bought and cut by private companies.

The Department of Natural Resources claims to manage state forests for: recreation, timber production, wildlife habitat, emotional uplift, scenic value, conservation education and watershed protection. Timber production is not appropriate for these forests due to the unique opportunities for other uses; when an area is managed for timber production, the other values are diminished or lost.

As taxpayers and citizens of Indiana, we should have a voice in how our public forests are managed. There are numerous arguments supporting the Indiana Forest Alliance's main goal - an end to commercial extraction from our state forests.

Economic Factors
• Logging on public lands undermines the ability of local logging companies to increase profits from logging private lands.
• The people of Indiana own the state forests. We enjoy the clean air, clean water, and recreational opportunities they provide. When a forest is logged, these valuable services are degraded in order to benefit the private interest of only a handful of people.
• Counties are compensated for logging in nearby state forests through county payments. This program is fundamentally flawed in that it forces the people of a given county to choose between healthy forests and county programs like education and road building. In addition to that, these payments do not make up for the costs involved in repairing county roads damaged by heavy logging equipment. Counties are also losing valuable ecosystem services like clean watersheds.
• The demand for timber in this state could easily be met by sustainable harvesting on private lands. There have been no new timber sales in the Hoosier National Forest in the past three years, but the timber industry still thrives. Only 3% of Indiana's land area is publicly owned. The impact of protecting our public forests would be minimal.
• The Indiana Code [I.C. 14-23-4-1] regarding state forest management is outdated. It claims that by logging state forests, we can "provide local markets with a further source of timber". Indiana now produces 40% more wood than we use; the timber market no longer needs to be supplemented.

Ecological Impacts
• The Department of Natural Resources claims that logging promotes forest health. If forest health were really a priority for the DNR, they would not mark and sell the oldest, healthiest trees from the forest.
• Logging fragments the forest, decreasing the ecologically important interior forest habitat. Roads and log yards required for logging operations create gaps in the canopy and change the ecology of the forest. For example, birds which require large tracts of old forest will decline, while predatory birds who use forest edges, such as cowbirds, are provided with an opportunity to invade and flourish.
• The earth in the forest is bound together by the roots of trees and other plants. If the trees are removed, the soil is exposed and there is nothing left to hold it together. Then, rain can easily erode the soil, destroying the potential for forest regeneration and increasing siltation of streams and other waterways.
• The heavy equipment used in cutting and removing trees not only compacts the soil, but it also kills countless living organisms, some of which are important in the re-growth of a healthy forest.
• Indiana has retained less than 1,500 acres of old growth forest. Old growth forests provide a unique and important habitat. The current condition of our forests, which were once almost completely clearcut, is a testament to their ability to restore vital ecosystems. State forests have the potential to provide mature forest habitat, but this will not happen until they are permanently protected from commercial extraction.
• The DNR now asks the private companies who buy and cut the trees to comply with Best Management Practices, designed to lessen the environmental destruction caused by logging, but their compliance is not uniformly enforced. BMPs include guidelines, such as the prohibition of cutting from steep slopes, installing erosion protection measures, cleaning up trash, and not allowing fluids (oil, gas, lubricants, etc.) to leak onto the ground. Volunteers from the Indiana Forest Alliance have monitored state forest timber sales and found that these guidelines are often overlooked.

Legal Considerations
• The DNR has never performed a comprehensive wildlife survey in the state forest system. Many state forest areas are prime habitat for endangered species such as the Indiana bat. The logging program in state forests contradicts the Endangered Species Act by failing to consider the negative impact that logging has on populations of endangered species.
• The DNR claims to be exempt from Indiana Code [I.C. 13-12-4-1-et.seq.] which would require environmental assessments for all projects having a significant impact on the environment. However, they claim that they have performed an Environmental Assessment and found that the timber program has no significant impact on the environment. In a mere nine pages, this documents claims to assess the environmental impacts of all Division of Forestry projects from managing invasive species to timber harvesting. This finding is unacceptable and does not adequately address the requirements of the Indiana Code. Removing trees from a forest and changing the ecology of the area, undoubtedly, has a significant impact on the environment.

Lack of Public Input
• Although state forests are publicly owned, the DNR has repeatedly ignored the voice of the people of Indiana when they try to express their opinions on state forest management. A recent poll conducted by the Herald-Times indicates that around 70% of the people in the Bloomington region are against state forest logging under any circumstances.
• There is no formal process for commenting on timber sales. In fact, the DNR actively attempts to suppress the voices of those against commercial logging on public lands through various measures, which have included a last minute change of venue to avoid protesters at a timber sale. The people of Indiana want and deserve a meaningful public input process regarding public lands management.

Objectives
The Indiana Forest Alliance calls for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources to end the state forest timber program.
In the meantime, the DNR should:
• Fully comply with [I.C. 13-12-4-1-et.seq.] by performing site specific Environmental Impact Statements with public input for each timber sale.
• Complete comprehensive wildlife surveys in each of the state forests to better gauge the impact of logging on endangered species and other wildlife habitat.
• Create management plans for each state forest with public input.
• Strengthen Best Management Practices to better protect steep slopes and uniformly enforce BMP compliance.
• Comply with the Endangered Species Act.

Take Action: Please write a letter to the State Forester John Seifert, asking him to end commercial logging on our state forests. Please use the facts and arguments above to help you write your letter. Write to: John Seifert, Division of Forestry, Indianapolis, IN

Volunteer or donate financial support to IFA’s legal effort to compel the Division of Forestry to create an environmental study and public input process for the management of the state forest system.