FOREST MANAGEMENT PLAN For the Purdue University Stephens Property

Prepared by Don Carlson-Purdue University Forester Updated October 2011

1. Legal Description and Location The Purdue University Stephens’ Property is legally described as containing 104.88 acres, more or less. It is in the SE ¼ of Sec 22, T26N, R2W in Adams Twp. of Carroll County, Indiana.

The property is located approximately 7 miles northeast of Delphi, IN. It is accessed off of 500 West that runs along the east edge of the property. There is an additional legal entry off the drive on the north edge of the property. This entry is identified by a gate across the drive from the house on the neighbor’s property (Potts’ property).

2. Physical Description Soils: Miami-Crosier Complex soils occupy the relatively flat to gently sloping ridge tops throughout the majority of the property. These soils tend to be on 2-6% slopes that have been eroded. They are deep soils ranging from well to somewhat poorly drained. They have few limitations from erosion, equipment, or windthrow. Site index (SI) is a standard measure of soil capability for growing trees. SI is simply how tall a non-suppressed tree can grow in 50 years. The site index for the Miami-Crosier is 98 for yellow poplar and 90 for white oak.

The steeper slopes of the numerous drainages are composed of Hennepin loam soil. Hennepin soils are deep, well drained soils on 30-70% slopes. This soil is commonly used as woodland as it is too steep for agricultural farming. However, due to the steepness of the slopes, erosion is a concern. Some slippage is occurring on excessively steep slopes along the larger drainages. The site index for northern red oak is 85.

Along the west central edge there is an area that was planted to red oak, black locust, and yellow poplar in 1971. This moderately flat area of 2-6% slopes has Ockley silt loam soils. Ockley soils are deep and well drained with few limitations. The site index for red and white oak is 90 while yellow poplar is 95.

The last major soil type is located in the wetland on the southeast edge of the property. The soil is Beaucoup silt loam and is frequently flooded. It is nearly level and obviously very poorly drained. Due to wetness, trees are limited to growing along the toe of the hill where the Hennepin and Beaucoup soils meet. Bald cypress trees were planted on the eastern end of the wetland and are doing moderately well. Standing dead trees are common in the wetland indicating somewhat dryer conditions in the past.

Topography: The property has maximum elevation change of 160 feet. The southeastern edge is a depressional area in an established wetland. A narrow ridge running north and south / southwest is a very distinguishable feature as it runs the length of the property and has very steep slopes in places. The remainder of the property is more gently sloping or rolling with several small drainages running north to south.

Acreage: The total property contains 104.88 +/- acres of which all is forest. To make the acreage more manageable, the property has been divided into 6 distinct stand types. TP-1: 20.54 acres of black walnut plantings in 3 separate areas along the northern edge of the property. From east to west the plantings are 7.74 acres, 4.61 acres, and 8.19 acres. TP-2: 1.30 acre red oak planting on flat ridge along southwest edge of the property. TP-3: 2.5 acres of yellow poplar tree planting. Wetland: 3.51 acres along between 500 West and steep ridge in the southeast corner. East Ridge: 17.28 acres that includes all the land between the road and wetland on the east and the first major drainage on the west. Balance: 59.75 acres of mixed hardwood forest remains intersperse throughout property.

Property lines: The forest is bounded on the north and southwest by agricultural land, the east by County Rd. 500 West, and the south and west by woodlands / pasture. A well maintained fence marks the north line while only remnants of fence mark the remaining lines away from the road. Purdue University property signs have been posted around the property.

3. Forest Description Background: The Stephens' property was originally purchased by Frank Stephens Sr. in 1963. His desire for the property was that it would be used and enjoyed by his family and wildlife while continuing to grow a sustainable crop of timber to be harvested as needed. In 1976, the property was transferred to Frank Stephens Sr.’s children who continued to protect and enjoy the property. The Purdue Research Foundation acquired the property in December 2003.

Stand Characteristics: The natural forest (N-1 and N-2) has been managed to promote an uneven aged stand for the last 50 years or so. However, the larger size class trees in the overstory most likely indicate an even-aged beginning as evidenced by the prevalence of shade intolerant species in the overstory and the consistent size of the dominant trees.

The planted stands consist of even-aged tree plantings originally established in 1972.

Species Composition: The natural forest has an overstory with a mix of typical upland hardwood species including oak, maple, walnut, ash, yellow poplar, beech and hickory. The midstory and understory are increasingly becoming dominated by shade tolerant species, especially sugar maple. Overall, this species represented over 42-47% of the total number of trees greater than 3”in diameter in this forest in 2004. If left undisturbed, as time progresses and the large diameter canopy trees begin to die out, the forest would continuously convert to a climax forest of sugar maple with beech.

The planted stands were intended to be monocultures of either walnut, red oak, or yellow poplar. However, since the planting in 1972, numerous trees have volunteered into the planting to add some species diversity. The most notable and promising of these is the yellow poplar in the walnut planting, the black cherry in the red oak planting, and the relatively small mix of walnut,

2 cherry, and sweet gum in the yellow poplar planting. As there is no native sweet gum in the natural stand, the sweet gum was evidently planted with the yellow poplar.

General Size Classes: According to the 2008 inventory, Stands N-1 and N-2 both have an average diameter at breast height (dbh) of 11.1-11.3 ” for all trees greater than 3 inches dbh. When only saw timber size trees of 13” dbh are considered, the average dbh raises to 19.0 – 19.4 respectively. Notably, the largest diameter trees on average are the oaks. Details of size classes can be viewed in the attached inventories.

The planted walnut trees in TP-1 range in size from 3-12” dbh. Typically, the smallest trees are on the broader tops of the old fields and are and indication of past erosion and / or poor drainage. TP-1 has some larger 12-14” dbh volunteer (or possibly planted) yellow poplar mixed in.

TP-2 has a good number of 10-12” dbh red oak that should put on excellent growth over the next 20+ years.

TP-3 has ample 10-14” dbh yellow poplar with few long term competitors outside of a few sweet gum and black locust trees.

Stocking: Forest stocking is a measurement of forest density and is primarily influenced by site quality, age, and species. Stocking is theoretically determined by measuring the amount of surface area on the cut surface of stumps if all the trees in a given area were cut off at 4.5 feet above the ground. This is called the basal area (BA) and is generally given in ft2 per acre. This measurement is taken through nondestructive means by measuring tree diameters at dbh. All trees can be measured or various sampling techniques can be used to determine basal area.

According to the June 2004 CFI inventory, the BA per acre in N-1 and N-2 ranged from 130.6- 135.8 ft2 for all trees over 3” dbh. This was a high BA for this area and species mix and would become increasingly evident in follow up inventories through slower growth and increased mortality of all trees, especially trees in direct competition for sunlight. Understanding this fact, a well-planned timber harvest was conducted in 2006 to remove mature timber while reducing the BA to a range of 90-110 to improve the productivity and vigor of this woodland.

All of the tree plantings were thinned in the spring of 2004. This thinning was completed prior to the inventory that was completed in June 2004. The BA in 2004 for the walnut planting of TP-1 was 67 ft2 BA. Overall, this slightly low stocking will yield maximum growth for 5-10 years until the trees again begin to compete. In reality, the poorer quality soils on which the walnuts are struggling will remain at a lower stocking for a longer period of time until volunteer trees begin to take over where the walnut are failing. The better soils are yielding vigorous, quality walnut trees and thus higher BA’s.

TP-2 and TP-3 are both very well stocked with quality trees. The 2004 thinning was extremely beneficial in reducing stocking levels below or around 100 ft2 BA. The yellow poplar is able to grow vigorously with stockings between 100-130 ft2 BA while the red oak should be kept between 85-110 ft2 BA. The red oak planting was again thinned in 2010.

3 Inventory Data: The first record of an inventory was from a 1978 timber appraisal. This appraisal was very brief and lacked any information as to how the figures were derived. In June of 2002, Wakeland Forestry Consultants, Inc. conducted a point sampling inventory or the woodlands as part of the original timber appraisal prior to Purdue’s acquisition. In June of 2004, 51 continuous forest inventory (CFI) plots were installed and measured. Each plot is one-fifth of an acre. All trees greater than 9.0” dbh were measured and permanently numbered on each plot. The CFI data was analyzed using an analysis program developed by the Indiana Division of Forestry (See attached Volume Summaries).

It is interesting to note that the 2002 appraisal inventory and the 2004 CFI were very comparable for the natural hardwood stands. The 2002 inventory expressed a volume per acre of 9818 board feet per acre while the 2004 inventory had 9,612 board feet per acre. This minimal difference of approximately two percent of the volume per acre is excellent when considering the sampling took place over the 72+ acres of mature hardwood forest using two different sampling methods. Trees per acre figures were not comparable and BA for the 2002 inventory was not stated.

The 2008 inventory revealed a reduction of the BA, trees per acre, and timber volumes as a result of the 2006 timber sale and the P-H TSI. The following graph summarizes the changes while the complete inventories can be view in attached inventories.

2004 2008 Basil Area Basil Area Trees / Ac Vol. / Ac Trees / Ac Vol. / Ac Stand (Sq. ft) (Sq. ft) N-1 131 192 9,331 110 159 8,013 N-2 136 187 10,562 93 137 5,340

4. Unique Features Physical: The property is in the transitional area between the upland till plains and bottomlands associated with the Wabash River floodplains. Biological: The 3.5 acre wetland provides an excellent addition to an already diverse and healthy wildlife habitat. Of the large number of wildlife birds, animals, reptiles, and amphibians located on this property, none are known to be threatened or endangered. Cultural: In the mid 1800’s the Erie Canal in this area was dug along the edge of the Wabash River bottomlands and the adjacent ridgeline. The present day wetland on the south edge of this property was at one time part of this historic canal.

5. History Acquisition Date: The Purdue Research Foundation acquired the property in December 2003.

Fire: There is no record of any fire in this woodland.

Grazing: This forest has thankfully been protected from grazing for many years.

Inventory: The forest was first inventoried in 1978 as part of a timber appraisal. In 2002, a variable plot timber inventory / timber appraisal was completed by Bruce Wakeland, a local

4 consulting forester. In 2004, 51 CFI plots were installed and measured by Purdue University forester, Don Carlson. In August 2008, the CFI plots on Stands N-1 and N-2 were remeasured.

Installation of Research Plots: Two demonstration tree plantings have been established. The first was in April of 2007 in TP-1C. This demo consisted of: . ~1.5 acres cleared of stunted walnuts and replanted to red and white oak, walnut, and cherry in random order of like numbers per row. Every other row contains select walnut and red oaks mixed with standard nursery run white oak and cherry while opposite rows contain all standard nursery run trees. . 3.9 acres enclosed in a plastic deer fence encircling 1.35 acres of the 2007 demo planting and another 2.55 acres of the 1972 walnut planting. . .15 acres of the demo planting left outside of the deer fence on the east side.

In May of 2008, a second demo was completed in N-1 and consisted of: . Part of a statewide demo tree planting demo on 3 regeneration sites (Stephens being one) and 3 aforestation sites. . 2.5 acres harvested in early 2008 and cleared in March-April 2008. . ~0.5 acres planted to red oak in a planting stock trial by Phillip Whollery. . 2.0 acres planted to rows of red & white oak and walnut & cherry. Every other pair of rows contain select red oak, walnut, and cherry. Opposite pairs contain standard run nursery trees. Every other 4 rows are fertilized. . Half of the demo planting and all of Whollery’s trees are fenced to protect from deer.

Harvests: The first record of timber harvesting occurred in 1964. This was a light cut to release high quality trees from excessive competition and improve the health and productivity of the forest. The second timber sale occurred in November of 2006 on N-1 and N-2 in which 167,712 BF in 684 trees and 104 culls were sold to Whooley Lumber Company from Mooresville, IN for $72,367 ($0.43 / BF). This Timber harvest was conducted from January 2007-mid 2008 via 4 contract loggers due to weather challenges and difficult logistics for Whooleys Lumber Co. 2.

5 Specific Management Activities: 3. 1964: A timber harvest was conducted by Mr. Frank Stephens Sr. 4. 1972: Approximately 24 acres of hardwood trees were planted in the present stands identified as TP-1, TP-2, and TP-3. 5. 1978: A timber inventory / appraisal were completed. 6. 1984: A management plan was completed by the Indiana Division of Forestry. 7. 1986: Corrective pruning of the trees in the plantings was completed. 8. June, 2002: A timber inventory / appraisal was completed. 9. Spring 2004: The initial thinning was completed on the tree plantings. 10. June 2004: 51 CFI plots were installed and measured. 11. January 3, 2006: Pre-harvest grape vine control completed. 12. Nov. 14, 2006: Timber sale 13. January 2007- Summer 2008: Timber harvest conductedApril 2007: Demo planting established in TP-1C. 14. 2008-early 2010: P-H TSI was completed as harvesting was completed in specific location and as time permitted. 15. May 2008: Demo planting established on main ridgetop opening in N-1. 16. 2007-2010: Invasive plants controlled throughout various locations on property. . This will be an ongoing process. 17. August 2008: CFI remeasured 18. 2009-2010: Shelterwood / midstory control efforts on stands N1 and N2 19. 2009: Deer exclosures constructed in Stands N1 and N2.

6. Forest Management Concerns There is an old cabin on the property that is beyond hope of repair. This building should be torn down and removed.

7. Management Objectives The present objectives for ownership of this property are: To ensure the forest is protected from development for future generations to enjoy. To encourage and support the use of the forest for educational purposes. To continue to measure the CFI plots to track the long term changes occurring in this forest and relay that information through public / professional / student educational programs. To continue to manage the property as a working forest to demonstrate the sustainability of our timber resources while providing periodic income through the sale of timber. To continue to use sport hunting to maintain wildlife species, especially white-tailed deer, in balance with the habitat.

8. Implementation Plan The forest needs to continue to be protected from development, grazing, uncontrolled fires, and infestation from invasive plants such as bush honeysuckle and autumn olive. It also needs to be readily available for educational purposes to provide teaching and research opportunities for students and the public. Realizing the value of this forest for its educational potential, re- measuring the CFI plots should be a priority. Remeasurements and analysis should occur every five to ten years.

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In an effort to demonstrate and research the sustainability of our timber resources, periodic timber sales should continue to occur every 10-15 years. The goal of these sales should be to generate income while improving the health, vigor, and aesthetic value of the forest for the future. A combination of individual or group tree selection and regeneration cutting should be used as determined by professional foresters.

7 9. Summary Year Task to be completed 2006-2008 Timber sale of 167 MBF with follow-up PH TSI completed. 2011-12 Complete Invasive plant control in all 1971 TP stands. 2012-13 Tear down and remove the old cabin.

2013 Re-measure CFI plots. 2014 Thin tree plantings 2018-20 Mark and market a timber sale on N-1 and N-2. Follow up the timber harvest with post-harvest timber stand improvement.

Purdue University Stephens' Property

8 PURDUE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY & NATURAL RESOURCES

SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS OF CFI

OWNER: Purdue University DATE: August 2008 COMPARTMENT: Stephens' Property- N-1 (Balance) FORESTER: Carlson ACRES: 59.75 This inventory was accomplished by measuring all trees greater than 3" on 1/5 acre plots. Sawtimber trees (9"+ dbh) measured on 29 plots. Pole trees (3" - 8.9" dbh) measured on 29 plots. All figures for volume are in board-feet (bd-ft) Doyle, all figures for basal area (BA) are in square feet, and all figures for diameter at breast height (dbh) are in inches. Volumes have been reduced for defect.

SUMMARY BY SIZE CLASS VOL. TREES BASAL DISTRIBUTION OF SIZE CLASSES DBH PER PER AREA / ACRE ACRE ACRE 50.0 4 46.7 4.1 6 27.9 5.5 45.0 8 18.4 6.4 10 14.8 8.1 40.0 12 27 11.7 9.2 35.0 14 387 10.0 10.7 16 981 9.3 13.0 30.0 18 1085 7.2 12.8 20 853 3.3 7.1 25.0 22 862 2.6 6.8 20.0 24 1321 2.8 8.7 26 707 1.6 5.7 15.0 28 872 1.4 5.9 30 309 0.3 1.7 10.0 32 239 0.2 1.0 ACRE PER TREES OF NUMBER 5.0 34 372 0.3 2.2 36 0.0 38 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 40 0.2 1.5 DBH (IN) TOTAL 8013 158.8 110.4

SUMMARY BY SPECIES VOL. TREES BASAL PCT. OF PCT. OF PCT. OF AVG. TOTAL STAND SPECIES PER PER ACRE PER PER ACRE AREA/ PER ACRE DBH VOLUME ACRE VOL. ACRE TREES ACRE BA Red Oak 1726 21.5% 6.7 4.2% 14.3 12.9% 19.7 103,131 White / Chinkapin Oak 1596 19.9% 4.3 2.7% 11.0 10.0% 21.6 95,373 Miscell. 1172 14.6% 47.8 30.1% 23.2 21.0% 9.4 70,041 Sugar Maple 931 11.6% 70.3 44.3% 29.3 26.6% 8.7 55,598 Walnut 732 9.1% 9.8 6.2% 11.7 10.6% 14.7 43,751 Yellow Poplar 604 7.5% 4.5 2.8% 5.8 5.2% 15.4 36,108 Hickory 518 6.5% 6.2 3.9% 6.3 5.7% 13.6 30,936 White Ash 439 5.5% 7.2 4.6% 6.0 5.5% 12.4 26,218 Black Oak 251 3.1% 1.0 0.7% 1.9 1.7% 18.3 14,968 Beech 44 0.6% 0.9 0.5% 1.0 0.9% 14.4 2,648 PER ACRE TOTALS 8013 100.0% 158.8 100.0% 110.4 100.0% 11.3 478,773

vines per SUMMARY OF VINES N/A acre

9 OWNER: Purdue University DATE: August 2008 TRACT: Stephens' Property- N-1 (Balance) FORESTER: Carlson ACRES: 59.75

SUMMARY OF VOLUME PER ACRE BY SPECIES AND SIZE CLASS * * * S P E C I E S L I S T I N G * * * VOL. White / DBH Sugar Yellow PER Red Oak Chinkapin Miscell. Walnut Hickory White Ash Black Oak Beech Maple Poplar ACRE Oak 12 2 6 5 9 3 2 27 14 7 13 97 134 65 39 14 17 387 16 41 60 274 340 103 55 41 41 25 981 18 81 31 242 265 225 36 76 98 31 1085 20 154 128 235 182 53 53 48 853 22 183 106 44 139 77 165 147 862 24 301 78 154 197 282 166 98 44 1321 26 177 408 121 707 28 625 116 131 872 30 154 154 309 32 239 239 34 372 372 36 38 40 VOL./ACRE 1726 1596 1172 931 732 604 518 439 251 44 8013

DISTRIBUTION OF VOLUME PER ACRE

1% 3% 5% Red Oak 6% 21% White / Chinkapin Oak Miscell. Sugar Maple 8% Walnut Yellow Poplar Hickory 9% White Ash Black Oak 20% Beech

12%

15%

10 PURDUE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY & NATURAL RESOURCES

SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS OF CFI

OWNER: Purdue University DATE: August 2008 COMPARTMENT: Stephens' Property- N-2 (East Ridge) FORESTER: Carlson ACRES: 17.28 This inventory was accomplished by measuring all trees greater than 3" on 1/5 acre plots. Sawtimber trees (9"+ dbh) measured on 11 plots. Pole trees (3" - 8.9" dbh) measured on 11 plots. All figures for volume are in board-feet (bd-ft) Doyle, all figures for basal area (BA) are in square feet, and all figures for diameter at breast height (dbh) are in inches. Volumes have been reduced for defect.

SUMMARY BY SIZE CLASS VOL. TREES BASAL DISTRIBUTION OF SIZE CLASSES DBH PER PER AREA / ACRE ACRE ACRE 45.0 4 40.5 3.5 6 25.9 5.1 40.0 8 18.2 6.3

10 11.8 6.4 35.0 12 15 10.0 7.9 14 205 6.4 6.8 30.0 16 739 7.3 10.2 18 759 5.0 8.8 25.0 20 1087 4.5 9.9 22 644 2.3 6.0 20.0 24 430 1.8 5.7 15.0 26 386 1.8 6.7 28 568 0.9 3.9 10.0 30 260 0.5 2.2 32 ACRE PER TREES OF NUMBER 5.0 34 36 249 0.5 3.2 0.0 38 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 40 DBH (IN) TOTAL 5340 137.3 92.7

SUMMARY BY SPECIES VOL. TREES BASAL PCT. OF PCT. OF PCT. OF AVG. TOTAL STAND SPECIES PER PER ACRE PER PER ACRE AREA/ PER ACRE DBH VOLUME ACRE VOL. ACRE TREES ACRE BA White / Chinkapin Oak 1635 30.6% 13.2 9.6% 23.0 24.8% 17.9 28,261 Red Oak 1287 24.1% 4.5 3.3% 11.9 12.9% 21.9 22,236 Hickory 560 10.5% 7.7 5.6% 6.7 7.2% 12.6 9,669 Black Oak 533 10.0% 3.2 2.3% 5.2 5.6% 17.4 9,206 White Ash 320 6.0% 8.6 6.3% 7.0 7.6% 12.2 5,530 Miscell. 303 5.7% 17.7 12.9% 9.1 9.8% 9.7 5,231 Sugar Maple 218 4.1% 74.1 54.0% 21.8 23.5% 7.3 3,762 Yellow Poplar 216 4.1% 4.5 3.3% 3.7 4.0% 12.3 3,739 Beech 204 3.8% 2.3 1.7% 2.8 3.0% 15.1 3,527 Walnut 65 1.2% 1.4 1.0% 1.4 1.5% 13.8 1,115 PER ACRE TOTALS 534000.0% 100.0% 137.3 100.0% 92.7 100.0% 11.1 92,275

vines per SUMMARY OF VINES N/A acre

11 OWNER: Purdue University DATE: August 2008 TRACT: Stephens' Property- N-2 (East Ridge) FORESTER: Carlson ACRES: 17.28

SUMMARY OF VOLUME PER ACRE BY SPECIES AND SIZE CLASS * * * S P E C I E S L I S T I N G * * * VOL. White / DBH Sugar Yellow PER Chinkapin Red Oak Hickory Black Oak White Ash Miscell. Beech Walnut Maple Poplar ACRE Oak 12 5 10 15 14 72 37 19 9 27 41 205 16 239 50 50 98 50 50 175 28 739 18 176 150 162 94 54 68 54 759 20 342 310 140 50 136 108 1087 22 116 182 182 163 644 24 382 48 430 26 386 386 28 305 263 568 30 260 260 32 34 36 249 249 38 40 VOL./ACRE 1635 1287 560 533 320 303 218 216 204 65 5340

DISTRIBUTION OF VOLUME PER ACRE

1% 4% 4% White / Chinkapin Oak 4% Red Oak 6% 31% Hickory Black Oak White Ash 6% Miscell. Sugar Maple Yellow Poplar 10% Beech Walnut

10% 24%

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