Effort Under Way to Set Aside Old-Growth Forests in Every County
Monday, May 15, 2017
NASHVILLE, Ind. – An effort is under way to designate an old-growth forest in every county in the United States that has forestland.
The Old-Growth Forest Network is spearheading the effort, and the group’s executive director, Joan Maloof, will speak on the topic in Indiana next month.
Maloof says she's encouraged by what's happening in the Hoosier State, and calls the Veterans Administration's decision not to cut down hundred-plus year-old trees in Crown Hill North Woods in Indianapolis a victory.
People staged protests at the construction site where the VA had planned to make way for a memorial for soldiers.
Maloof says legislation (SB 420) pending in Indiana to set aside at least 10 percent of the state's forests from logging could become a model for other states if approved.
The bill would apply only to publicly owned forests, and around 95 percent of Indiana's forests are privately owned.
"Of the 158,000 acres of state forests, it's saying let's leave just at least 10 percent of this in its natural state so the forest can continue to get older and older," she points out.
The Indiana Forest Alliance says setting aside those acres would have a very minimal impact on the timber industry and would bring in more dollars to local communities through recreation.
Maloof will be speaking about the bill and about the importance of leaving some forests untouched at the
Toast to the Trees festival in Nashville, Ind., on June 24. The event is open to the public.
Maloof has written books on old-growth forests and maintains those forests can improve a person's health.
"In addition to what we see through our eyes, the birds and the insects and the fungi that are there, we're also breathing in things that are given off by all those organisms that can actually affect our health and our mood," she points out.
Maloof says residents should be able to visit an old-growth forest no matter where they live. She's pushing for each county in the U.S. to have a forest that's off limits to logging.
"And that's kind of what Indiana is trying to do with their old forest bill,” she states. “They're saying it's not enough to have these few small nature preserves and parks that are overrun with people. We need larger areas of unlogged forest."
More information is online at indianaforestalliance.org.
get more stories like this via email
United Nations experts are raising concerns about chemical giants DuPont and Chemours, saying they've violated human rights in North Carolina…
Social Issues
The long-delayed Farm Bill could benefit Virginia farmers by renewing funding for climate-smart investments, but it's been held up for months in …
Environment
Conservation groups say the Hawaiian Islands are on the leading edge of the fight to preserve endangered birds, since climate change and habitat loss …
Environment
April has been "Invasive Plant Pest and Disease Awareness Month," but the pests don't know that. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it's the …
Health and Wellness
The 2024 Arizona Alzheimer's Consortium Public Conference kicks off Saturday, where industry experts and researchers will share the latest scientific …
Environment
Environmental groups say more should be done to protect people's health from what they call toxic, radioactive sludge. A court granted a temporary …