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<P><FONT size=2>brief bio:<SPAN class=450535513-03012002> PICTURE ATTACHED AND
AT BOTTOM OF MESSAGE</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>David Haberman is a professor in the Department of Religious
Studies a<SPAN class=450535513-03012002>t</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2><SPAN class=450535513-03012002>I</SPAN>ndiana University who
teaches courses on religion and ecology.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>contact information:</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>email: dhaberma@indiana.edu</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>telephones: (home)812-323-9768; (office)812-855-8894 or
812-855-3531</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT size=2></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT size=2>"Time to Stop Logging Our State Forests"</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>One beautiful autumn day several years ago I was hiking the
Ten</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>O'clock trail in Yellowwood State Forest with my family. About a
mile up</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>the trail we came upon a sight that shocked us: all the trees in
a large</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>area had been cut to the ground, and several beech trees near
the trail</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>had been ringed with a chainsaw. Thinking that we had stumbled
upon a</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>site of vandalism, I called the Yellowwood property manager the
next</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>morning to report what we had found. What he told me shocked me
further,</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>for he explained that the Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
was</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>responsible for what we had observed. It was at that moment that
an</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>assumption I shared with many people was shattered. I had
assumed that</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>the state forests in Indiana were protected lands, but I
discovered that</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>day that the DNR operates a commercial logging program on our
state</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>forests. What I have learned since has only increased my
concerns.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>Although polls consistently indicate that the majority of
the</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>people of Indiana are against commercial logging in our state
forests it</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>continues. State forests are publicly owned, but the DNR has
repeatedly</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>ignored the voice of the people in deciding how to use this
public land.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>Besides supplying clean air and water, our state forests provide
necessary</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>wildlife habitat and wonderful recreational opportunities. When
a forest</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>is logged these valuable services are degraded in order to
benefit the</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>private interests of a few people. Commercial logging is simply
not</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>compatible with other uses of this land. Surprisingly, there is
no formal</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>process for public comment on timber sales. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>The demand for timber in Indiana could easily be met
by</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>sustainable harvesting on private lands. The state forests
comprise only</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>.6% of Indiana's land, and yet provide recreational enjoyment
for many.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>The state forests of Indiana contribute only 1% of the state's
timber</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>supply, and Indiana now produces about 40% more wood than we
use. The</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>impact of ending logging in our state forests would therefore be
minimal;</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>the market does not need to be supplemented with subsidized
timber from</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>public lands. By selling timber at subsidized rates, logging on
public</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>lands undermines the ability of local land owners and logging
companies to</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>increase profits from logging private lands. Most of the funds
from the</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>state logging program go to maintain the bureaucracy involved
in</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>overseeing the program. A small amount of money also goes to
counties</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>that contain state forest land as compensation for logging;
however, the</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>payments are often not enough to cover the costs involved in
repairing</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>county roads damaged by heavy logging equipment. In addition to
serving</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>these counties with a healthy watershed, a forest that is left
intact</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>would bring far more tourist dollars that the money received
from the</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>state logging program.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>Roads and log yards required for logging operations create gaps
in</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>the canopy and greatly change the ecology of the forest. Logging
fragments</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>a forest, decreasing the ecologically important interior forest
habitat</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>that many migratory birds need to survive in our region. A
healthy forest</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>depends on a wealth of biodiversity, but operating the heavy
equipment</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>necessary to remove large trees from the forest destroys many of
the</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>smaller plants, animal habitat, and microbiotic organisms that
live in the</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>soil. Likewise the gas, oil, and hydraulic fluid that leak from
this</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>equipment seriously compromises the forest environment.
Biologists today</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>have made it very clear that biodiversity is necessary for the
future of</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>all life on the planet. Since we do not have much say about what
happens</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>on private land, our only hope for establishing preserves for
biodiversity</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>and allowing at least some of our forest land to return to a
mature</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>condition is our public land. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>The DNR claims that logging promotes forest health, but even
a</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>brief visit to a logging site quickly dispels the truth of this
claim.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>The DNR typically marks the large, commercially valuable trees
for sale,</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>not the sick or overcrowded smaller trees. Any gardener knows
that you do</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>not weed out the largest, healthiest plants for good
cultivation. And</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>nature has produced healthy forests for millennia without
human</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>assistance. The DNR also maintains that logging our state
forests serves</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>to demonstrate environmentally responsible forestry, but such
educational</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>programs could easily be carried out by the DNR on select
private lands. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>We in Indiana are blessed with beautiful forests on public land
in</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>the southern part of the state. We need to appreciate these
wonderful</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>gifts today and protect them for future generations, for in the
end</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>healthy forests have much to do with a healthy human future.
House</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>Majority Leader, Representative Mark Kruzan will be introducing
a bill</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>this session that is designed to bring an end to commercial
logging on our</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>state forests. Please join him in this noble effort by writing
or calling</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>your state representative (200 W. Washington St., Indianapolis,
IN 46204;</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>1-800-382-9467) and asking him or her to support this important
bill.</FONT></P></DIV>
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