By LINDA McGURK
Indiana Correspondent

TURKEY RUN, Ind. — Some are in it for the timber; others, for hunting and wildlife spotting. The members of the Indiana Forestry and Woodland Owners Assoc. (IFWOA) range from retirees looking for an investment opportunity to white-collar professionals seeking to reconnect with the land.

But they all have one thing in common: Their passion for keeping Indiana forests healthy and productive. Aptly surrounded by gigantic black walnuts, thriving hickories and other old-growth hardwood trees, IFWOA held its annual meeting at Turkey Run State Park on Nov. 14-15, attracting members from across the state.

“A lot of people are very far removed from the land and don’t understand why it’s important to manage forests,” said Janet Eger, who helped organize the event.

“We tell people that it’s important to manage forests not just for the sake of the timber, but for wildlife, air and water quality, aesthetics and recreational purposes as well.

“Trees affect every single aspect of our lives, whether you live on Manhattan or in rural Parke County (Ind.). We can’t breathe without them, and their products go into everything.”

Founded in 1977, IFWOA currently has more than 800 members, and is Indiana’s only landowner-based forestry organization.
“Unfortunately, a majority of landowners are not members of our organization and we are trying to recruit more. But the landowners that are members of IFWOA are some of the best educated (woodlands managers) in the state,” said Eger, a district forester with the Indiana Division of Forestry.

“Our members come from all walks of life. You don’t even have to own forestland to be a member, you just need to have an interest in it.”

For Kathleen Hull and her husband, Meredith, of Monrovia, the decision to buy 165 acres of mostly wooded land 15 years ago was born out of love for the outdoors.

“Our primary goal is to preserve and enjoy nature. We spend a lot of time in the woods,” said Kathleen. “And we feel like we’re doing the right thing, protecting a little piece of nature.”

So far, the couple has had one harvest, but generating income is not the main purpose of the land. “But I don’t know, the way the stock market is going, we may be more dependent on it (for retirement) than we thought,” she joked.

When accounting for all the end products, forestry is a $5 billion industry in Indiana, but few people can make a living solely from owning and managing woodlands, Eger said. As a result, retirees make up a significant part of IFWOA’s membership.

“For many (of IFWOA’s members) the forest was always a part of the farm, and as they retire they’re able to switch gears and focus more on the woodlands,” she said.

Despite being Indiana’s third largest industry, forestry often gets overlooked by the ag community, contended Philip Gramelspacher, president of IFWOA. “A lot of people in Indiana have forestland but don’t manage it.

One thing we’re trying to do is connect with those people,” he said.
During the annual meeting, IFWOA members could choose to participate in workshops ranging from chainsaw safety and tree identification to invasive species control and timber stand improvement. The two-day event also included a field trip to the reconstructed covered bridge in Bridgeton and a guided tour of a 160-acre hardwood tract owned by IFWOA member Bob Miller.

“The biggest benefit when you participate in an event like this is that you’re sharing ideas landowner-to-landowner,” said Eger.
In light of population growth and increasing pressure from urban sprawl, IFWOA’s mission to help landowners become better stewards of the land is more important than ever, Eger added.
“If you have a 100-acre forest and break it up in 10 (lots) with a house on each, you’ve basically lost 100 acres of land base,” she explained. “Some of the values will still be there – aesthetics, air and water quality – but the land base for harvesting trees shrinks dramatically.