Protecting forest benefits and ecosystems now and into the future
Indiana’s forests are rich and diverse. They provide economic and environmental benefits that Hoosiers recognize and love. The stakeholder-driven Forest Action Plan most recently updated in 2020 is the result of dedicated work by the state’s forestry and conservation partners represented by the Indiana Forest Stewardship Advisory Council and coordinated by the Indiana Division of Forestry.
From the shores of Lake Michigan to the banks of the Ohio River, and from the eastern edges of the tall grass prairie to the western edges of Appalachia, Indiana’s forests are poised with promise for expansion and restoration, conservation, and connection. The Indiana Forest Action Plan provides five strategies that align with the National Priorities for all Forest Action Plans to help grow and sustain Indiana’s forests and urban canopy.
Sustainable management of forestland provides economic incentives and guards against conversion, fragmentation, and parcelization
Indiana forests and their management are dependent upon diverse and sustainable markets to ensure economic return for landowners. Strategies in the Forest Action Plan direct DNR to (among others): develop existing survey techniques and forestry remote sensing capabilities to assess forest composition and growing stock, develop incentives and otherwise promote the use of Indiana forest products within the state, help to ensure that any harvest of biomass from Indiana’s forests is conducted in a sustainable manner and provide incentives for the production and manufacture of certified sustainable wood products to Indiana businesses.
Indiana’s largest remaining contiguous forest patches are treasures that provide habitat and protection for a number of threatened and endangered species
To ensure the long-term health and sustainability of Indiana’s woodland resources, it is paramount that existing forests, especially large-tract forests, be conserved, managed and expanded. Particular emphasis is given to action steps that keep forests on the landscape, promote landscape-level diversity and address threats presented by invasive species. The centerpiece of this strategy is the development of a Strategic Forestland Conservation Program with a directed focus on protecting tracts, forests, habitats and forest communities of especially high public benefit.
Restoring and connecting forests along riparian areas improves the prospects for increased biological diversity and soil protection
Riparian areas sustain those ecological services that provide especially high public benefit, including enhanced potential for genetic exchange within species and reforestation, soil retention, water quality, pesticide and nutrient retention, and other benefits associated with limiting water impairment.
Best Management Practices
Indiana’s best management practices (BMPs) program is non-regulatory. The agency responsible for BMPs policy development is the Indiana Department of Natural Resources’s Division of Forestry.
Click here to view the most recent BMPs recommendations on the state forestry agency website.
