By LINDA McGURK
Indiana Correspondent

BEDFORD, Ind. — When Mark Dunn purchased a 200-acre tract of forest near Bedford, Ind., in the mid-1980s, the land was in bad shape after many years of misuse.

“The forest was picked over pretty well and most of the good species were already gone,” Dunn said.

But after two decades under his careful management, the land is starting to recover and thrive once again. His efforts recently earned him the Charles Deam Forest Stewardship Award.

“(The forest) is more or less a long-term investment in the future, because I’m not going to see any dollars and cents in it. It will benefit people down the line, 60 to 100 years from now,” Dunn said about his interest in forest management.

“Through his efforts and those of landowners all across the state, we can leave a legacy of healthy forests for our children and grandchildren,” said Phil Gramelspacher, president of the Indiana Forestry and Woodland Owners Assoc. (IFWOA) in a statement.
IFWOA gives the award annually to an “outstanding Indiana forest owner who follows Charles Deam’s example and demonstrates exceptional management of their woodlands,” according to the organization. Deam was an early woodland protection pioneer who became Indiana’s first state forester 1909.

Dunn, a branch manager of Crane Federal Credit Union in Bedford, received the award for his relentless work to improve the long-term quality and productivity of his forest. Ever since he bought the land, Dunn has cut down what foresters refer to as “junk trees” and planted new hardwood trees instead.

He also planted trees on 26 acres in an open area that wasn’t suitable for farming, and created wildlife habitats.

“It’s been a long, drawn-out process; I’ve been working on this for several years,” Dunn said. And now that some of those first walnuts he planted about 18 years ago have reached 40 feet, he’s finally starting to see the fruits of his labor.

“After all this time, that’s sort of a psychological payback, even if it’s not a financial payback. There’s such a long lag time, it takes a long time to see the impact of what I did years ago.”

Dunn does all the legwork himself, but receives technical assistance from District Forester Janet Eger. “Janet Eger was a big help to me, because my training was not in forestry,” he said. “I keep bouncing ideas with other people to come up with a plan that works for my property.”

Any forester can nominate a landowner for the Charles Deam award, which was established in 1992. Five district finalists will then compete for a $100.00 prize, an outdoor sign and a plaque to be presented at the IFWOA annual meeting held in the fall.

“You need to have a track record of at least four to five years of managing the forest properly for wildlife and timber production,” said Allen Royer, a district forester, about the nomination process. “The winner is usually a leader who is active in the community and knowledgeable about quality-forest management, and, most importantly, willing to share that knowledge with others.”

The other state finalists were Charles Vollmer and Raymond Major of Dubois County, Robert and Steve Pickett of Marion County and Bill Claxton of Dekalb County.