Yellowwood protests: How lawmakers are taking aim at logging in Indiana forests

A handful of state politicians from both sides of the aisle say they plan to propose legislation that provides stricter rules for managing Indiana's state forests.

State Sen. Eric Bassler, R-Washington, told IndyStar that he is preparing to submit a bill that would set aside 30 percent of Indiana's state forests as "old forest area" and prohibit the Department of Natural Resources from conducting or allowing timber management practices in the area.

"I think that most people would tend to agree that if we’re going to have a set aside for an old growth area, that 100 percent doesn't make sense, and I think most Hoosiers would say that 0 percent doesn’t make sense," Bassler said.

More about logging in state forests:

The quick hits: What we know about logging in Yellowwood

Protesters offer $150K to save Yellowwood State Forest

Over 200 Hoosier scientists tell Holcomb to stop the logging in Yellowwood

Previous iterations of the bill called for a 10 percent set aside, but Bassler said he is going to update the bill and ask for 30 percent.

This is the third time Bassler will be putting forward the bill. Last year, Senate Bill 420 was heard by the Natural Resources Committee but did not make it to the floor of the senate.

"I’m cautiously optimistic that if we get it out of committee," Bassler said, "we’ll get it off of the senate floor and over to the house."  

Bassler will be co-authoring the bill with Sen. Eric Koch, R-Bedford, and Sen. Jon Ford, R-Terre Haute. Both Bassler and Koch live in districts that contain significant areas of the state forest system. Notably, Sen. Koch, who advocated for similar legislation when he served in the House, represents the district that contains Yellowwood State Forest. The property has been at the center of controversy after the Department of Forestry auctioned a portion of the forest's backcountry area for logging earlier this month.

“I’ve listened to the perspectives of all stakeholders, including forest advocates, neighbors, Indiana Department of Natural Resources, recreational users, the logging industry and the tourism industry," Koch said in a statement. “I believe that there is a balance to be found between commercial and recreational uses of our state forests, and that is a public policy decision that resides with the legislature.”

Sen. Mark Stoops, D-Bloomington, told IndyStar that he also plans to file legislation that would address DNR's logging practices. His bill would require a cost-benefit analysis of logging the state forest, and would institute a moratorium on logging in the state forests until such an analysis is produced by the DNR.

"The Division of Forestry thinks (it knows) all even though they have a very narrow base of experience, and now we have these 200 scientists with this wide variety of expertise and I don’t know how the DNR can refute or ignore that," Stoops said.

Stoops was referring to a letter signed by 228 Hoosier scientists, imploring Gov. Eric Holcomb to stop the timber sale in Yellowwood. 

Logging in the state forests has increased drastically over the past several years, partially fueling the opposition of more recent timber sales. The Division of Forestry says that it uses timber management best practices to promote forest health. Some of the proceeds from timber sales contribute to the department's funding. 

The DNR maintains that, while logging has increased, "the increase needs to be put into perspective," according to a "fact sheet" DNR provided to IndyStar. According to the DNR, annual harvests have increased from .3 percent of merchantable trees to 1.2 percent, or just over 1 tree out of every 100. 

Most recently, more than 1,700 trees throughout 299 acres of the Yellowwood State Forest, including backcountry areas, were sold at a Nov. 9 timber sale. About 200 protesters chanted "stop the sale" as Hamilton Logging Co., Inc., entered the winning bid of $108,785. Division of Forestry director John Seifert had previously valued the trees at $150,000. 

According to DNR spokesperson Marty Benson, Hamilton Logging has paid the deposit and signed the contract required to move forward with logging the land. Benson said that logging had not begun, and that Hamilton Logging has not indicated when it might start the logging.

A week before the sale, retired biology professor and Brown County resident Leslie Bishop delivered the letter signed by 228 Hoosier scientists to Gov. Eric Holcomb's office. The letter, prepared in partnership with the Indiana Forest Alliance, laid out the biological and ecological arguments against logging backcountry areas of the Yellowwood State Forest, which contain some of the oldest trees in the state forest system.

Despite the letter, protest and calls from constituents, Holcomb continues to affirm his support for the DNR's forest management plans.

"The governor’s position has not changed," a spokesperson for his office told IndyStar in an email. "He supports DNR’s plan as the way to sustain the health of the forest."

Emily Hopkins covers the environment for IndyStar. Contact Emily at (317) 444-6409 or emily.hopkins@indystar.com. Follow them on Twitter: @_thetextfiles.

IndyStar's environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.

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