Submitted by Indiana Forest Alliance
ABOUT IFA:
The Indiana Forest Alliance (IFA) is a non-profit, statewide organization founded in 1996 dedicated to
preserving and restoring Indiana’s native hardwood forest ecosystem for the enjoyment of all. Learn more about IFA by visiting indianaforestalliance.org.
INDIANAPOLIS— At last week’s online timber sale, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
auctioned off trees in the heart of the Salamonie River State Forest for $10,000 to the sole bidder.
That price equates to a mere 6-cents per board foot, when the average low price for low quality timber
in Indiana in 2020 was 30-cents per board foot.
The state claims the timber sale supports forest management. However, the periodic removal of select
trees does nothing to improve forest health. In fact, it disrupts the cycle of life and often increases the
spread of detrimental non-native invasive species, which then harm forest health. In addition, timber
harvests employ heavy equipment, which requires the construction of roads in the forest, causing the
demolition of even more trees than the merchantable trees included in the timber sale count and
entails removal of hundreds of smaller trees to give high dollar value oaks an artificial advantage in
regenerating the forest.
Further, the heavy equipment also removes the downed logs that characterize a high quality mature
forest, which act as habitats for many forest species. The equipment also crushes turtles, snakes,
salamanders and many other species that live on the forest floor, interferes with recreational uses of
the forest, and contributes to soil erosion and polluted runoff that can threaten water quality
downstream.
Details of the Salamonie River State Forest Sale
The Salamonie River State Forest timber sale took place via a secret online bidding platform on
November 30, 2021. Only one timber buyer bid on the sale. The DNR sold 984 merchantable trees in
the heart of the forest for a mere $10,000. This is 162,466 Doyle board feet of timber, including 394
board feet of veneer quality white oak, sold at just $0.06 per board foot. In conducting the auction as
they did, the DNR ignored its own requirement to set a minimum bid and released the tract to the loan
bidder.
When the state sells timber by whole tracts from the state forest, as it did in this sale, rather than
cutting and marketing the trees individually, taxpayers are short-changed. Veneer quality trees, each
worth thousands of dollars, are sold for firewood prices. In this case, the DNR referenced the need to
improve the forest health (removing what they viewed as trees with inferior timber quality, which
brings down the price). IFA strongly disagree that trees that are crooked are inferior. Furthermore
photos (see below) taken nine days before the sale show a number of high quality, straight trees in
Salamonie marked for the sale.
The state also claims that many of the trees marked for sale are diseased or dying. If this is the case, it
begs the question that, if the DNR has been managing the state forests “scientifically” to “ensure forest
health” for the last 100 years, why is it necessary now to virtually give away trees to “improve forest
health.” A question the DNR will not answer.