Figure 35. — A group being trained in fire fighting. {Courtesy of Indiana Department of Conservation.) 



pro\ision of adequate funds for necessary yearlong 

 personnel and modern fire-fighting equipment will 

 help to keep forest fires controlled. 



Livestock Grazing 



Woodlands must be protected from livestock grazing 

 if the owner is to grow more high-quality timber. 

 In the State, 12 percent of the forest area is heavily 

 grazed, but this damage is most apparent in northern 

 Indiana where nearly one-fourth of the forest area is 

 heavily grazed. Because raising livestock is so im- 

 portant in this State, there is a great demand for 

 pasture. As commonly practiced ^^^in the hardwood 

 forests, grazing kills tree reproduction, decreases 



Indiana's Forest Resources and Industries 



growth and increases cull in the surviving trees, 

 exposes roots to trampling, compacts the soil thereby 

 increasing water runofT, and destroys ground litter 

 and humus (fig. 36). The amount of damage, of 

 course, depends upon the intensity of grazing. 



The Purdue Agricultural Experiment Station and 

 the State Division of Forestry have been working for 

 many years to discourage grazing in woodlands. The 

 Indiana Forest Land Classification Act of 1921 re- 

 quires that land classified under this act not be grazed. 

 Some 140,000 acres are now under the classification 

 program. Studies conducted in Indiana (7) and 

 Illinois have shown that woodland forage is inferior 

 to that on cleared pasture both in quantity and nutri- 

 tion. An improved pasture may produce 15 to 20 



27 



