Highlights of Indiana Forests 



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Indiana has 4.1 million acres of forests. — Although this 

 area represents only 18 percent of the State's total 

 land, the forests are so distributed that farmers, urban 

 dwellers, and wood-using industries all benefit 

 greatly from them. All forest land is available for 

 growing and harvesting commercial timber except 

 58,000 acres, chiefly in parks and recreation areas, 

 which are reserved from cutting. 



Ninety-five percent of the commercial forest area is privately 

 owned. — More than 100,000 farmers own 2.9 million 

 acres of forest land, mostly in tracts of 10 to 25 acres. 

 These tracts, although too small to manage effectively 

 as separate commercial enterprises, contribute appre- 

 ciably to individual farm needs. From their wood- 

 lands farmers get lumber, fence posts, poles, fuelwood, 

 and other products valued at more than 7 million 

 dollars annually. Other private forest lands total 0.9 

 million acres. The Federal Government owns 163,000 

 acres of forest land divided between the Wayne- 

 Hoosier National Forest and military reservations. 

 Other public forests include 93,000 acres in State 

 parks and forests and 2,000 acres in county and 

 community forests. 



The forests support 2.8 billion cubic feet of growing 

 stock. — Ninety-nine percent of this stock is in hardwood 

 species. Poletimber trees make up 32 percent of the 

 growing stock, and sawtimber trees account for the 

 other 68 percent. 



Sawtimber totals 77 billion board-feet (International 

 %-inch Log Rule). — More than 50 percent of the area 

 supports 1,500 board-feet or more per acre and by 

 definition is classed as sawtimber stands. More than 

 90 percent of the board-foot volume is in sawtimber 

 stands; the other 10 percent is scattered in stands 

 having less than 1,500 board-feet per acre. Of the 

 sawtimber volume, oaks comprise about 40 percent, 

 other hard hardwoods another 30 percent, and soft 

 hardwoods the remaining 30 percent. Softwoods 

 account for less than one-half percent of the 

 sawtimber volume. 



Stands in general are understocked and of poor quality. — 

 Although large sawtimber stands average nearly 

 5,800 board-feet per acre and the small sawtimber 

 stands more than 3,000, the quality is low. Only 14 

 percent of the hardwood sawtimber volume is in high- 

 quality logs (grades 1 and 2) that yield veneer, 

 high-grade lumber, handle stock, and other high- 

 quality wood products. Not included in the saw- 



timber volume but certainly contributing to the low 

 quality of the stands is the large number of cull trees. 

 About 1 of every 6 sawtimber-size trees is a cull. The 

 stands average nearly 1 1 cull poletimber and saw- 

 timber trees per acre. 



Even though only about half the annual sawtimber 

 growth is being harvested, the quality of the stands 

 continues to decline, largeh' because most users seek 

 high-quality logs and too much growth is laid on by 

 low-quality trees. The cut of high-quality logs 

 amounts to about 117 million board-feet, while the 

 growth of high-quality material is only about 85 

 million board-feet annually. 



Indiana has more than 1,000 sawmills. — Most of them 

 are small; only about 30 cut a million board -feet or 

 more each year. There are also more than 30 veneer 

 plants, about 10 cooperage-stock mills, and several 

 handle plants. Besides the primary plants, the State 

 has about 650 manufacturing plants. In 1948 about 

 450 million l)oard-feet of lumber, veneer, and bolts 

 was used in manufacturing, but only about 250 million 

 board-feet of this was native hardwoods. These plants 

 employ more than 30,000 workers and have an annual 

 payroll of more than $70,000,000. 



The overall condition of Indiana forests is above average for 

 the Central States region. — Even so, there is room for 

 improvement. Using a large amount of high-quality 

 logs, Indiana can well afford to adopt a forest manage- 

 ment program aimed at growing more high-quality 

 timber than at present and giving the better sites first 

 priority for management. Greater stress could be 

 placed on the fundamental requirements of good forest 

 management, i. e., better cutting practices to eliminate 

 the cull trees from the stands; cutting practices that 

 will allow more small-diameter trees to grow to large 

 diameter and high quality before harvesting; and bet- 

 ter protection from fire, grazing, insects, and diseases. 

 Improved marketing and utilization, and the use by 

 new industries of low-grade material could help 

 to improve the condition of the forests. 



The occurrence of considerable timijer in small 

 tracts and the reluctance of owners to use good woods 

 practices are obstacles to managing and utilizing ef- 

 fectively much timber in Indiana. Continued research 

 is needed in all phases of the forest program as well as 

 continued eff'ort in interpreting the findings to 

 timber owners and users. 



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