Column: Forest supervisor addresses 'nature-only' option for Hoosier National Forest

This is my third and final column in a series where I’ve shared the facts about how the Forest Service cares for our public forests and wildlife. In this column, I’ll focus on timber harvest and prescribed fire, two tools we use to improve the health and diversity of the Hoosier National Forest (Hoosier).

Consider why we harvest timber on the Hoosier. Our harvests are a mix of thinning, selection, shelterwood and, in very limited cases, clear-cuts to remove non-native pines to restore native hardwoods. In all cases, the primary purpose is to improve the long-term sustainability, resilience and diversity of the forest ecosystem and its wildlife habitat. Secondary is providing wood products that we all use and that help support the local economy.

Next, let me clarify how much timber is harvested. Some recent claims suggest that much of the Hoosier is planned for timber harvest. The truth is that only a tiny proportion of the Hoosier is managed this way each year. On average, just 266 acres — or 0.13% of the 204,000 acres that comprise the Hoosier — is harvested annually. At this pace, over the next century, 87% of the national forest would not have seen a timber harvest.

While several proposed projects may appear large at the planning stage, the pace of implementing them will be gradual. Over the next 10 to 20 years, timber harvests will maintain approximately the same level (0.13% annually). Keep in mind that areas affected by vegetation treatments will be less than what is initially proposed. Following more detailed surveys before each action, some areas are excepted to protect sensitive features.

Periodic fire has long been part of this landscape, according to broad consensus among natural resource professionals and researchers, anthropologists and historians of Native American cultures. The purposeful use of fire for millennia by Native Americans is well-documented through historical pollen counts, fire scars on tree rings, charcoal remnants and early Euro-American settlers’ descriptions. The very presence of oaks, which depend on fire to outcompete other tree species, is a sign of fire’s historical role.

We know that plants and wildlife of this region have adapted to live with fire, and some even depend on it for their survival. Without fire, the composition and diversity of the forest is altered, to the detriment of many species. Research and our monitoring of prescribed fire use show that fire creates conditions that allow the oak-hickory ecosystem to flourish on appropriate sites, provides nutritious plants for wildlife and pollinator, and restores the unique barrens community.

We are sometimes asked why we can’t let nature take its course to fix existing problems. The fact is that the Hoosier National Forest is a human-impacted landscape, and we can’t simply roll back time to a “nature only” option. These forests, fauna and flora have evolved alongside human influences for thousands of years, and left unmanaged will not simply revert to their historical condition. Some species relied on past disturbance agents — ranging from Indigenous burning practices to wildlife such as bison, wolves and passenger pigeons — that are now missing. Many of our present-day management actions aim to mimic those past disturbances.

Human activities continue to impact and make demands from the land. Add in climate change and the effects of fragmentation and neighboring land use, and you quickly realize that there is no “nature only” option. At least a moderate amount of science-based management is critical to ensure the long-term sustainability of the forest ecosystem.

Decisions on where and how to implement forest restoration projects are guided by our Forest Plan, but we are not tied to only consider what was known when that plan was signed in 2006. We incorporate the latest science from all relevant disciplines and consider our monitoring results from prior projects, as well as input from partners and the public. We’re also mandated to follow all new policies, laws and regulations passed since the 2006 Forest Plan was finalized.

The Hoosier National Forest is an invaluable asset to our communities, and we all benefit from it. I am grateful for your interest in its care and long-term well-being.

To view the research linked to this article or the first two in the series, visit the Hoosier National Forest’s website at https://www.usda.fs.gov/Hoosier.

Mike Chaveas is forest supervisor of the Shawnee & Hoosier National forests.

Click here for the first op/ed in this series and here to read the second one.