Slides from presentation given by John Seifert, Director, Div of Forestry, Indiana Department of Natural Resources at the 12/8/11 Indiana Sustainable Natural Resources Task Force meeting. More info: http://www.indianawildlife.org/snrtf.htm

1. Sustainable Natural Resources Task
Force- Status of Indiana’s Forest
Resources
December 8, 2011
John R. Seifert, Director, Division of Forestry
Indiana Department of Natural Resources

2. Historical Context
(Pre & European Settlement)
• 90% of Indiana was forested when the early
Europeans arrived
• During settlement time the forest was viewed
as a source of material for building a
homestead
• The rest of the forest was cleared for
subsistence farming
• By the early 1900’s most of the land in Indiana
had been cleared for agriculture

3. 1900 – 1960’s
• Continued clearing of forest patches but at a
slower pace
• The value of timber (wood) begins to improve
such that landowners considered management
and marketing
• The beginning of the price differentiation for
various trees species
• Environmental issues surrounding forest
harvesting begin to appear
• Wildlife, water, recreation and aesthetics
become discussion points with the public relative
of forest management

4. Current Social and Economic Forest
Issues
• A balance between environmental issues and
economic drivers – pay the taxes, pay the
mortgage, new options for higher and best use of
the land
• Fewer people remember their historical roots (on
the farm) and have lost touch with the biological
world – forests are dynamic and changing
• Most Hoosiers rely on mass media, 30 second
sound bites and social media to provide their
science
• More competing economic uses for the land

5. 2009 DNR Forestry Commissioned
Public Opinion Survey - Indiana
• 48% “very concerned” and another 45%
“somewhat concerned” about the long term
health of Indiana’s woodlands
• 55% thought 3% public ownership of Indiana
woodlands was “not enough”
• 72% agreed with the statement “The amount
of forestland in Indiana is shrinking.”
• Respondents identified “urban sprawl” as the
highest threat to Indiana woodlands

6. Survey Results on Harvesting
• 95% approved removing trees to protect from
insect and diseases
• 85% approved harvesting if done by a
professional forester
• 82% approved of harvesting to improve places
for wildlife
• 61% approved of harvesting to make lumber
and other wood products
• 88% agreement: “IN woodlands should be
managed for a balance of wood
products, wildlife, recreation and good water

7. Indiana Forest Action Plan
A national process with a Hoosier result
http://www.forestactionplans.org/states/indiana

8. Survey of Resource Professionals and Private Landowners
Indiana Forest Issue Relative Importance Score
Fragmentation and/or conversion of forests to another land use 507
Conservation and maintenance of soil and water resources 425
The spread and control of invasive species 421
Conservation of biodiversity 364
Counterproductive government forest conservation related policies 249
Availability of land for public recreation 234
High cost of forest ownership and low incentives to retain 226
Conservation of forests that protect drinking water supplies 206
Overpopulation of white-tailed deer 194
Inadequate public education about forests 166
Sustaining Indiana's forest product industry 160
Lack of active management on forests 146
Sustainable regeneration of oak woodlands 138
Inadequate youth education about forests 94
Lack of healthy woodlands and trees in urban areas 90
The control of forest fires 73
The loss of fire dependent plant communities and habitats 67
Forests not managed for carbon storage 45

9. Indiana Forest Action Plan
Strategies
1.) Conserve, manage and protect existing forests
2.) Restore and connect forests
3.) Expand Best Management Practices
4.) Coordinate education, training and technical
assistance
5.) Maintain and expand markets for Indiana
hardwoods
Full plan available here:
http://www.in.gov/dnr/forestry/5436.htm

10. Patch Name Acres % Forested % Protected % Public % CFW
Ravinia 72,151 69% 7.7% 5.8% 8.9%
South-Central Indiana Patch 2,532,989 68% 22.0% 21.8% 9.5%
Patoka 139,686 62% 15.9% 15.9% 7.1%
Bluegrass 645,169 60% 11.4% 11.2% 5.1%
Whitewater 222,108 59% 8.7% 8.6% 7.9%
Sugar Creek 62,092 57% 11.5% 11.2% 17.9%
Little Pigeon 54,448 53% 8.6% 8.6% 8.2%
Raccoon 67,283 51% 5.6% 5.6% 13.0%
Minnehaha 96,458 50% 32.5% 32.5% 2.5%

11. Beyond Political Boundaries
• Average patch size by
natural area ranges from a
low of 23 forested acres in
the Black Swamp to 968
acres in the Shawnee Hills.
• Strategy # 2 to focus on
restoring and connecting
forests (especially in
riparian areas)

12. Forest Land Use Change in Indiana
• Forest change based on
satellite imagery
comparison shows a large
amount of change
– 1,272,820 acres of land
weren’t forest in 1992 but
were forest in 2009.
– 924,680 acres of land were
forest in 1992 but were
not forest in 2009.

13. Indiana Forest Action Plan
Impacts
• Increasingly targeted
federal dollars (state)
• Increasingly competitive
federal allocations must
relate to plan
• Greater stakeholder
engagement and
understanding of issues

14. Current Strengths
• Increasing forested acreage, volume per acre and
quality
• Very diverse forest species composition –
economic and environmental
• Historically strong primary and secondary forest
products industry
• Long history of professional forest management –
Classified Forest and Wildlands Program
• Strong demand for land ownership

20. Forest Resource Information
Forest Inventory & Analysis (FIA)
Continuous Forest Inventory (CFI)
•State Forest Properties System
•Classified Forest System

21. Total Economic Impact: $16.6 billion
* Every board foot of timber processed had $61 of economic impact.
* 87.7 percent of logs processed in Indiana were harvested in Indiana
There are 4,713,557 acres of forest land in Indiana;
* 84 percent is privately owned
* 98 percent is available for timber production
* 98 percent is hardwoods
Timber value of managed forests is about 34 percent higher than unmanaged forests.
Total Value of Shipments of $8.1 billion was 2.8 percent of Indiana’s Gross Domestic Product.
* $164 million was paid to landowners for timber.
* For every $1 paid to landowners for timber, $48 of value was added in the
production of final products.
The hardwood industry employed 35,641 people
* An additional 86,139 jobs were generated in economic sectors supporting or
supported by the hardwood industry
Source – Indiana’s Hardwood Industry: Its Economic Impact (updated 2010-Hoover/Settle)

22. Sawmills in Indiana
600
519
500
444
406
400
369
308
300
271 236
200
206 184
207
100
0
1961 1966 1971 1980 1984 1990 1995 2000 2005 2008
The number of mills has dropped 65% since 1966. However, since 1995
the number of mills have been fairly stable dropping only 12%. If the
economy doesn’t begin to pick up, we expect more mills to shut down.
We do not expect any significant turnaround for another 2 years.
Source – 2008 Timber Product Output Survey

23. Industrial Roundwood Production in Thousand Cubic Feet
90,000
81,089
80,121
80,000
74,216
70,000
66,446 63,839
60,000
50,000
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
0
1990 1995 2000 2005 2008
Roundwood production has declined 21% since 1990.
Products include sawlogs, veneer
logs, pulpwood, staves, handles, and other products.
Source – 2008 Timber Product Output Survey

24. 1921 Classified Forest
Program
1979 Classified Wildlife
Habitat Program
2006 Programs merge to
form Classified Forest &
Wildlands Program
Program provides
property tax benefit for
enrolled lands ($1/acre
assessment)
Landowner must manage
land according to
management plan.
Administered by Division
of Forestry

25. PROGRAM ENROLLMENT
Classified Forest Program 2000-2005
Classified Forest & Wildlands Program 2006 - Present
700,000
52.3% growth/10 yrs
650,000
600,000
550,000
Acres
500,000
Program Enrollment
450,000
400,000
350,000
300,000
*
Year
* In 2006, Classified Forest Program & Classified Wildlife Habitat Program merged to create
Classified Forest & Wildlands Program

26. Classified Forest & Wildlands
Enrolled Lands by Habitat Type

27. Projected Classified Enrollment
850,000
800,000
13,000 tracts
750,000
700,000
Acres
650,000
600,000
550,000
500,000
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

28. Classified Forest & Wildlands
2010 Management Activities
• 519 Timber Harvests
(39.8 million BdFt)
• 322 Tree Plantings
(2,500 acres)
• 2,778 Timber Stand
Improvement Project
(52,00 acres)

29. Projected Classified Enrollment
850,000
800,000
750,000
700,000
Acres
650,000
600,000
550,000
500,000
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

31. Division of Forestry
“Green” Forest Certification
• State Forests
– Forest Stewardship Council
(FSC) & Sustainable Forestry
Initiative (SFI)
– 153,000 acres certified
– 12,000,000 BdFT
• Classified Forest & Wildlands
– American Tree Farm System &
Forest Stewardship Council
– 555,000+ acres certified
– 38,000,000 Bdft

32. Cost Share Three Year Trends
$1,800,000.00
< 5% of all IN EQIP federal dollars
spent on forestry practices
$1,600,000.00
$1,400,000.00
$1,200,000.00
$1,000,000.00
Total Dollars
Forestry Practices
$800,000.00
Invasive Spieces Control
$600,000.00
$400,000.00
$200,000.00
$-
2009 2010 2011

33. IWRP
• Summer 2006 to Winter 2007
• Three sign ups 200K each
• 15,605 Acres affected
• Backlog ~ 150k each sign up
• 5,000 Acres in backlog each signup
• Timber Stand Improve 85% of Projects

34. State Forests

35. Indiana’s State Forest System
• Working lands managed for multiple benefits
– 13 State Forests
– 156,000 acres
– Includes 17 nature preserves (2,369 acres)
– Timber, wildlife, hunting, foraging, camping, lakes,
firewood
– 4,500 acres forest restoration activities annually
• Reforestation, forest improvement, invasive
species, erosion control.

36. State Forests- Surrounding States
(Only Indiana and Ohio Certified as Well Managed by
international certification systems –Green Certification)

37. Indiana State Forests
Conserving Biodiversity
• Sustainable Forest Resource Management
• Timber harvests and restoration activities administered by professional
foresters at all forests
• Forest management results in habitat diversity, supporting greater species
diversity
• Several Nature Preserves established and managed
• Certified as well managed by FSC & SFI
• 14 million board feet green certified hardwoods sold last FY
• Approximately $3 million (15% returned to counties)
• Harvest approximately 50% of annual growth
• State Forest continue to increase in timber volume
• Forest Research
– HEE project (a 100 year effort)
– In Eastern US only Missouri has a similar project
– Independent research projects ongoing (2011: 15 projects, 11 partners)
– Continuous Forest Inventory system remeasured

38. Indiana State Forests
Conservation Concerns
• Public support
• Indiana DNR and the Division of Forestry has a long positive history -
the envy of many states
• Protection of important lands
– Consolidating ownership improves sustainability
– General land acquisition funding has declined while land availability
has gone up
• Management of invasive species (plants, animals, insects, disease)
– Work never ends
– Reintroduction of American Chestnut a possibility
• Protecting species of greatest conservation need
– Indiana bat habitat conservation plan
– Environmental Assessment completed for 2008-2027
– Research includes management effects on endangered species

39. The Value of Forests for Wildlife
• Over 330 wildlife species found in Indiana use forests or
woodlands
• Most of these (approximately 58%) use forests or
woodlands as their primary habitat type
• 56% of Indiana’s wildlife Species of Greatest
Conservation Need use forests or woodlands
– Mammals: 20 of 22
– Birds: 16 of 47
– Amphibians: 6 of 11
– Reptiles: 13 of 19
• Five Federally listed wildlife species use Indiana forests
and woodlands

40. Land Acquisition History
1998 - 2008
• 74 Projects – 9,431 acres
• Various funding sources – IHT, INDOT
funds, timber sale funds, donations, coal
mining compensation
• Various Partners – TNC, NWTF, trail users –
hikers and horses
• Inconsistent over years – some years had less
than 100 acres acquired, some had over 1,500
acres

41. Acquisition History 1998 - 2008
2000
Acres Acquired
1500
1000
500
0
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Year

42. Timber Sale Funds in
Land Acquisition
• 1,040 acres have been purchased using funding
solely from timber sale revenues with a total cost of
$2.65 million.
• An additional 160 acres are being purchased solely
with $430,000 of timber sale revenues.
• An additional 2,750 acres have been or are being
purchased a major contribution of timber sale
revenues. Of the over $6 million purchase price of
these, over $3.5 million is from timber sale revenues.

43. Opportunities for Future Acquisition
• Currently there are four larger parcels
available for acquisition that combined
contain over 2,000 acres.
• There are over two dozen smaller parcels
available that combined contain over 1,000
acres.
• These would take an estimated $6 - $9 million
in funding to purchase.

44. Opportunities for Future Acquisition
• An annual allotment of $1.5 - $2 million for
land acquisition would allow for the
acquisition of 500 – 1000+ acres every year
(depending on per acre cost).
• The acquisition strategy would be to target
one or two larger “project” parcels, and then
several smaller ones that improve
management of existing state forest lands.

45. Disincentives (Opportunities)
to Owning Woodlands In Indiana
• Long term nature of forest management
• Periodic income stream
• More non-monetary demands on woodlands
• Other than lumber, no well established monetary
streams
• Limited opportunities for cost share assistance
• Typically higher and better use of the land - $
• Very few legacy partnership/families
• Majority of land transfers results in the extraction
of resources faster than can be replaced

46. Opportunities/Challenges
• Long term consistent forest management program
• More professional management
• Increased demand for limited number of State DNR foresters
• A large number of private woodland owners willing to sell to
the Division/ -- no funding
• Ever increasing demand for cost share dollar to assist in long
term forest management
• Maintaining a viable forest products industry within the state
– primary and secondary
• All cost share policy and support is driven at the Federal level -
IWRP first state cost program ever attempted
• There has not been a real landscape changing proposal on
forest sustainability since the Classified Forest program of
1921

47. Opportunities/Challenges
(continued)
• There has not been a real landscape changing
proposal on forest sustainability since the
Classified Forest program of 1921 – back then
the property taxes were the primary expense
• Economics drive the majority of all
environmental decisions at the private sector
level

48. Challenges to Forest Wildlife in Indiana
(from: Indiana Comprehensive
Wildlife Strategy, 2005)
• Habitat loss ranked top forest wildlife problem
• Top 5 Forest Habitat Threats:
1. Developmental Sprawl
2. Habitat Fragmentation
3. Habitat Degradation
4. Unsustainable Agricultural/Forestry Practices
5. Successional Change

49. DoF Meeting Challenges to Forest Wildlife
1&2. Developmental Sprawl / Fragmentation
• Best defense = large contiguous forest units, long-
term forest protection
• State forests = large forest units, limits fragmentation
from non-forest land uses
• Future state forest acquisitions targeted to grow
existing units and reduce inholding fragmentation
• Legislative intent, long-term protection and resource
conservation

50. DoF Meeting Challenges to Forest Wildlife
1&2. Limiting Sprawl/Fragmentation on private forestland
• Incentives to keep private forests forested
o Classified Forest & Wildlands program
o Develop IN Forest Mitigation Bank program
o Other cost-share programs
• Maintain and Grow Large Forest Patches
o Strategic Forestland Conservation program
o Statewide Forest Assessment identified high priority
conservation areas, includes existing areas of high
forest cover and corridors along riparian areas and
between isolated forest patches

51. DoF Meeting Challenges to Forest Wildlife
3&4. Habitat Degradation/ Unsustainable Practices
• Third-party Certification (SFI, FSC)
o State Forests and Classified Forest participants
o Certification requires strict adherence to rigorous criteria
and frequent audits
o Promotes only sustainable practices that maintain or
enhance healthy forest communities and habitats
• Non-timber Resources Featured in Management Planning
o Classified Forest Stewardship Plans
o State Forest Management Guides
o Emphasizes resource conservation; ensures protection of
rare resources, like T&E species and unique communities;
addresses invasive species

52. DoF Meeting Challenges to Forest Wildlife
5. Managing Succession & Balancing Forest Age Classes
• Maturing forests = Young forest habitats dwindling
o Most IN forest wildlife species use early successional
habitats for at least some life requirements
o Early successional forest identified among “most
threatened” forest habitats; <6% of statewide forestland
is classified as early successional
o Important to many of Indiana’s species of greatest
conservation need, including whip-poor-will and golden-
winged warbler

53. DoF Meeting Challenges to Forest Wildlife
5. Managing Succession & Balancing Forest Age Classes
• Forest management is an important tool for
maintaining and improving biodiversity
• State Forest goal to balance age classes; 10% of
acreage in both early successional and older forest
conditions
• Use both even- and uneven-age harvest methods on
State Forests to diversify forest condition and habitat
opportunities
• Cost share programs available to private forest owners
to develop early successional habitats