Indiana Society of American Foresters

SB610 (see attached) - This bill creates a forestry commission (with no professional forester on it except an appointee of the DoF) which will determine the 100 year management plan, among other analyses, for the Indiana's State Forests. The members of the commission would provide significant oversight to the management of Indiana's state forests.

HB 1376 Dedicated Conservation Funding –(fact sheet attached) This was created and supported by IN Conservation Alliance, of which ISAF is a member. This bill would move the sales tax already being collected for outdoor recreation items to the DNR instead of the general fund, this amount averages $60 million per year. Funds would go to 1) backlog of DNR capital repairs and rehab, 2) B Harrison Conservation Trust for new land purchases, 3) State Wildlife action plan. You’ll note no direct funding to DoF , except indirectly through points #1 & #2. Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.

In Greenfield, Indiana on November 16th, an intrepid group of ISAF members showed up after a bit of an ice storm to perform some Timber Stand Improvement and raise some charitable funds for the chapter.  We are finding plenty of groups and events that need our support in promoting forest management in Indiana, so hopefully we can do this again soon.  Enjoy the pictures!

For those of you who attended the Forest Pesticide Training Program in Danville on November 29th this e-mail is a follow up to the presentation that Dawn gave. If you did not attend the training program please check out the following link to learn more about this rule that will ban the sale, distribution and transport of 44 invasive plants in Indiana. http://www.sicim.info/news/

Non-native invasive plants are a threat to the health, productivity, and sustainability of Indiana’s forest resources so please take the time to lend your support to this proposed rule.

The following is some updated information directly from Dawn Slack, chair of the Invasive Plant Advisory Committee:

The proposed terrestrial plant rule timeline has been updated and a notice of intent has been posted in the Indiana register.

The public hearing will be Dec 19 @ 10:00 AM in the Government Center North Bldg., 1st Floor – typically 1st room on the right .  The online comment period will remain open until the end of the day Dec 20th.

What does all this mean for us:
Written comments are the most effective tool, so please continue to share and ask people to comment on the rule.
Timeline is here: https://www.in.gov/nrc/files/lsa18316_timeline.pdf
To post a comment: https://www.in.gov/nrc/2377.htm
The public hearing is run by the Law Judge (Dawn Wilson, Administrative Law Judge). She will host the hearing in her office and open the meeting for comments. As mentioned above, written comments of support are the most important tool. IPAC members discussed yesterday that it is not necessary to pack the room during the public hearing with those in favor of the rule. We do hope that representatives of various businesses and organizations attend the public hearing (Nursery, Landscaping, Forestry, Land Trusts, Special Interest, etc.) and provide support for the rule at that time.
We are not discouraging participating in the public hearing, but again, we want to express that the most important tool we have are written comments - especially since we have until Dec 20th to provide such comments.

The Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science and the USDA Northern Forests Climate Hub are offering the popular Forest Adaptation Planning and Practices training(Flyer PDF)  as an online, seven-week course! The winter 2019 course will be held during Jan. 8 - Feb.19, 2019 with a focus on the Central Hardwoods and Central Appalachians. This course has been approved for 21 category 1 CFE credits by the Society of American Foresters.

This is a free online training for natural resource managers with a signup deadline of Friday, December 7th, 2018. Click on the link(s) to signup! Registration or More Information

Please save February 21st and 22nd 2019 for the next meeting of the Indiana Society of American Foresters, which will be held in Spencer at the McCormick’s Creek State Park Inn. The theme of the meeting will be “Timber and Non-Timber Forest Products”. Details on agenda topics, location, and fees are forthcoming.

The program will be held in the Hendricks County 4-H Fairgrounds and Conference Complex, 1900 E. Main St., Danville, IN in the South Hall.

Click here for Online Registration, Information and Agenda

It is time for the printing of the 2019-2020 Directory of Professional Foresters, due out in February 2019. We believe it can be an important avenue for you to get your name out to Indiana’s woodland owners seeking professional help.

If you are not currently in the directory, but would like to be listed in the next directory, by November 29, 2018, please return the attached sheet to me with any changes marked along with your check or money order or pay online via credit card at http://2019inforestersdirectory.eventbrite.com. Your payment of $275 includes the printed and online directories plus a 2 year membership in IFWOA. A draft of your 2019-2020 listing will be sent to you for your final approval prior to printing.

Please note our definition of consulting and industrial foresters. If you are a licensed timber buyer, please identify yourself as an industrial forester and we will include your usual information in the industrial forester section and on the locator map.

As with the last edition, the Directory is now available online at www.findindianaforester.org, as an interactive searchable database or a PDF of the printed version to download. This web tool gives you more visibility and allows us to make information changes between print editions. In addition, approximately 4000 print edition copies are mailed to district foresters, state forests, SWCD, NRCS, and county extension offices.

If you would like to submit landowner tips or photos for inclusion in the Directory, please send them in by December 1 and they will be included as space permits with credit given to the author.

We have a student intern working on this project, Kellee Edington, who may be corresponding with you on my behalf. We hope you will find this Directory a useful tool to advertise your services. We appreciate your support of IFWOA.

Regards,

Liz Jackson
Indiana Forestry & Woodland Owners Association

November 2-3, 2018 : The annual woodland owner conference at the Abe Martin Lodge in Brown County State Park near Nashville. Friday will include a field tour and Saturday will include an indoor program with breakout sessions and networking. More Information...

Purdue Forestry & Natural Resources Whitepaper: Addressing Concerns About Management
of Indiana’s Forests (FNR Whitepaper 2018-1-15)

The Indiana Forest Alliance has tried for many years to restrict active forest management on state forests. It has come to ISAF's attention that they are currently petitioning the Indiana legislature to set aside 24% (in specific tracts) of Indiana's state forests as wilderness-like areas to honor "Indiana's heritage".

The bill that has been filed, Senate Bill 548, and is available here. The bill's author is Sen. Mark Stoops.

The ISAF Executive Committee is in the process of considering sending a letter to the Senate Natural Resources Committee which will consider hearing the bill. As citizens and professionals, I encourage you to contact your state senator and let your views be known on SB 548.

You may also contact Sen. Sue Glick, chair of the Senate Natural Resources Committee and express your views. Her office can be reached at 317.232.9493 to leave a message courteously expressing your view. Bill Minter, ISAF Policy Chair