We are extremely proud to be able to donate a portion of our proceeds to an Indiana charity close to our hearts – the Indiana Forest Alliance. They are working hard at preserving and restoring Indiana’s native hardwood forest ecosystem for the enjoyment of all, and we are happy to help support that mission. Please enjoy a guest post about their local non-profit from the delightful Anne Laker.

Learn More about the Indiana Forest Alliance with Anne Laker

It is intuitive, and proven with research: When you spend time in a
forest, your mood is boosted, your blood pressure lowers, and your stress
melts off.

Indiana is lucky to have 156,000 acres of public forest in our twelve
state forests, not to mention waterfalls, breathtaking vistas, and
seemingly magical geological formations. If you’ve hiked or paddled
through these forests, you know the often unsung beauty waiting to be
enjoyed.

But imagine taking a wonderful weekend hike…only to come upon a series
of clear cuts.

This is a common sight in Indiana State Forests today. Our Governor, Eric
Holcomb, and the two preceding governors, have sanctioned a policy of
inviting commercial loggers to cut trees on taxpayer-owned land to
generate revenue to pay for the Indiana Division of Forestry’s (DoF’s)
budget. The Division’s strategic plan calls for nearly half of its budget
to come from “product sales” (i.e. logging revenue).

Fact: In 2002, 40% of Indiana State Forests were protected from logging;
in 2016, less than 5% are protected. The DoF justifies this policy in the
name of science, saying that forests are like gardens and need to be
weeded, and that forests need to be heavily managed to survive, and that
cutting down trees “creates wildlife habitat.”

Why is this problematic? First, forests are ecosystems. Unlogged, old
growth forests provide 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 forest “knows” what it needs. If you’ve
read the book The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben, you know that
forest have their own systematic intelligence. The wise forest manager
lets a forest be a forest, with only sensitive, strategic intervention.

While it’s true that selective timbering can encourage growth of desirable
trees, to say that logging “benefits wildlife” is not accurate, unless you
define wildlife as wild turkey and deer. These species are already
plentiful. Endangered, rare and threatened species such as the cerulean
warbler, the Indiana bat, and the Eastern Hellbender salamander need
undisturbed forests to thrive.

Taxpayer-owned forests are supposed to be managed for multiple use, not
treated like timber farms. That means balancing the needs of hunters,
hikers, and forest management (a.k.a. logging). Right now, the balance is
weighted far in favor of the timber industry, a $17 billion industry in
Indiana, with $3 to $4 million of that generated from state forest
logging. Allowing Indiana State Forests to be aggressively logged amounts
to the commercialization of public land, and it’s directly against the
American ethic of preserving our common assets, be it the Grand Canyon or
our own Yellowwood State Forest.

Imagine you own property in Brown County. You moved there because you love
nature. Now imagine the trees around you being cut and dragged out,
tearing up roads and causing erosion. This is bad for your property
values, and bad for eco-tourism.

What can we do about this problem? A lot. The Indiana Forest Alliance
(IFA) invites every Hoosier to join the movement to protect our public
forests.

IFA is lobbying the governor and lawmakers to establish 13 new Wild Areas
in seven of Indiana’s State Forests, preserving them for hiking, primitive
camping, backpacking, hunting, mountain biking and horseback riding
opportunities available nowhere else on public lands. These proposed Wild
Areas will protect 23% of the state forests from logging. Take one step
today: Send a postcard to Gov. Eric Holcomb asking him to reserve some
portion of state forests from logging.
Volunteer or donate in support of IFA’s Ecoblitz. The Ecoblitz is a
comprehensive effort to inventory all the amphibians, small mammals,
insects, reptiles, vascular plants, birds, bryophytes, lichens, fungi
living in a 900-acre tract of one of our state forests: Morgan-Monroe.
Knowing what life exists in the unlogged forests is a logical baseline.
[Side Note: The 24 different salamanders in Indiana are equal to the
number of salamanders in all of South America, including the Amazon
rainforest].
Get to know and love Indiana State Forests. Try a state forest rather than
a state park. State forests are the only places where (theoretically) you
can do primitive, off-trail camping and hiking.
Become a member of IFA, and attend their rallies and events.
Advocate for green space in your county, whether urban or rural. Green
space reduces crime, mitigates heat, absorbs carbon, and raises everyone’s
quality of life.

On that last note, Indianapolis residents may have heard about the effort
to save Crown Hill North Woods. Here’s the story: the U.S. Veterans
Administration approached Crown Hill Cemetery about building a massive
columbaria to house the ashes of 25,000 veterans. But this worthy project
was unessecarily sited on a 15-acre plot within Crown Hill including
300-year-old trees, one of the oldest stand of trees in inner-city
Indianapolis.

The Indiana Forest Alliance and supporters sounded the alarm. Over six
months, hundreds of calls were generated to elected officials, and
multiple rallies and vigils held. School kids, veterans and neighbors got
involved. The message was clear: the Indianapolis community wanted the VA
to select a different site for this important project, one that honors
veterans and the American heritage they fought for without needlessly
sacrificing an old growth forest.

As a direct result of public outcry, Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett made a
public statement against the project in its selected location. Then, in
mid-March, a group of citizens occupied the site in a show of resistance
on the day the felling of tree was to start. The VA issued a stop-work
order and promised to consider alternative sites. In the end, Crown Hill
Cemetery offered the VA an alternative portion of land of equal size. This
important piece of forest is, for now, preserved.

Nature is not a commodity. It is us. The Indiana Forest Alliance and its
allies continue to fight for the right of every Hoosier the opportunity
for true wilderness recreation in this beautiful state. The IFA continues
to strive for the preservation of deep forest habitat for native,
forest-dependent species of flora and fauna in these places owned by all
Hoosiers.