Please look at this channel 8 hit piece and support the State Forest management. Vote in the poll to support logging that is needed for wildlife like Grouse, Turkey and Deer.

http://wishtv.com/2014/04/29/i-team-8-finds-big-growth-in-logging-of-indiana-public-forests/

The Forest Alliance and Stant are an extreme group from Bloomington

Thanks...

I'll volunteer to help cut!

The "yes" vote is way behind! We need everyone who is on any hunting website to vote on this! Just pull up the linked article and go to the bottom of the article and vote.

There is nothing "selective" about what they are doing. It is fine to timber like they do in Ohio and leave younger trees but there are NO trees left in the pictures they show where they are selective timbering in Indiana, which is totally wrong. How is that good for the wildlife as they claim????
I cast my vote

It's my understanding that it's a mix of selective and clear cuts. Clear cutting can be very good for wildlife and overall forest regeneration. The picture doesn't mean though that they are cutting the entire forest down.

I voted.

Been to these sites in a couple of our state forests, selective cutting not clear cutting is going on.

Going to be very good for wildlife next spring and forward.....

wow, what a bias in the wording of the question!!

Should the state continue logging in state forests to make money?

Different trees respond to different types of logging practices.. Go to the clear cuts 5 yrs later and see the response .Indiana's forest are on average only 75 to 80 years old there should be a larger harvest now I am going to a forestry workshop at SEPAC where you can see the regrowth response I was there 2 yrs ago when the different harvest methods were done they are not just turning people loose with chainsaws a lot of thought goes into a harvest

Voted ....

I was impressed by the amount of scientific information provided by some of the people who posted online. Kudos for taking the time and effort to inform everyone.

They don't clear cut enough to really help wildlife.
It just shows ignorance to make that kind of comment. You have to cut enough to open up the forest floor so that sunlight gets to it to start forest regeneration from the seeds that are already on the ground. 70% of forest wildlife species benefit from edge and early successional Forest. The state is closing Ruffed Grouse season. Why? Ruffed Grouse population has plummeted 97% because we stopped timber harvest in the Hoosier National in the 80's and not much was going on in State Forest. Bird Species like Chat, Whiporwhills, Grouse and others need both cover and food to survive that edge provide. It is the same for deer and other mammals. What food are deer going to eat in a closed canopy Forest?
Even tree species if not managed hurt wildlife. If allowed Fast growing tree species shade out slower growing species like Oak that produce mast for the animal. I am just amazed at the people who say they support wildlife but are just ignorant to the point that they support things that hurt it. Animals need food and shelter to survive. A Climax Forest benefit a few species but hurt most.

Seriously, your going to write about others ignorance and write this propaganda? First when I think about all the forest dwelling animals that rely on trees for a food source and shelter, I have a hard time believing "70 percent of forest wildlife species benefit" from clear cutting timber, if you really have some literature to that effect please post it and I will study it with an open mind. As for grouse and whipper wills all I know is while growing up in the 70's and 80's they were both plentiful in my area and we had vast stands of mature timber. It seems back then people cared about their forests and the appearance of them more, whereas now all they care about is the dollar they can get from them. Now there is vast areas around me of small trees, underbrush and briars, but no grouse and it is rare to hear a whipper will, so it sure doesn't seem to me they benefited from the harvests. "What food are deer going to eat in a closed canopy forest?" Well there you go, I agree clear cuts help deer and deer is all 90 percent of the people on here care about, but deer sure like acorns too. I am not at all anti logging. In fact I have taken John Siefert's course on timber management and have done TSI and selective cutting on my own property, but I refuse to cut everything for the dollar and kill off the den trees and all the grape vines wildlife need to feed on and I don't think the DNR should take that approach either. One thing Mr. Siefert opened my eyes to is what grows back in clear cut areas-it is NOT oak. Clear cut an oak ridge and it is gone forever because the poplar will blow past them and smother them out. Not sure why this is different now than when the oak ridges came into existence, but it is! I am not saying the DNR should not do selective timber harvests, they should, but I have seen first hand the increase in cutting going on right now and yes several clear cuts on DNR land and I agree it is alarming and alarming to see all the campaign contributions from those getting the contracts=hmm, I think we need to slow down a bit and leave some of those nice mature forests for future generations to enjoy like we did growing up.

Definitely a hit piece. Well said Doug. I remember when HNF by me used to get sections clear cut. Man the grouse were thick and whippoorwills were everywhere. I'm going to say it's been around 25 years since it was last touched and the grouse are nowhere to be found anymore. It's sad. They briefly came back when my grandparents had our woods logged about 15 years ago, but they seem to be gone again now. I haven't heard one single drum this spring. Not one. I can't remember the last whippoorwill I heard either.

While I'm at it I'll throw in fencerow and wood lines being ripped out as killing off all the quail. It's unbelievable all of the creeks, ditches, and fencerows being leveled. Quail will never come back either.