Indiana Forest Legacy Program ASSESSMENT OF NEED Final Report December 1998 Revision January 2020 i i Introduction to Indiana Forest Legacy Program AON 2019 Revision The US Forest Service required that the Forest Legacy Assessment of Need (AON) be included in the 2020 Indiana Forest Action Plan either by integration into the document or as an addendum. The Division of Forestry chose to addendum option. The Division of Forestry took the opportunity to revise the AON. The purpose of the revision was not to make major modification to the AON, but update the AON to reflect the program changes that have occurred since the original 1998 AON: • In 2004, an expansion to the Shawnee Hills / Highland Rim Forest Legacy Area was approved. • The program application and evaluation forms are modified from time to time. For this reason they have been removed from Appendix B and replaced with directions to contact the Indiana Forest Legacy Program Manager for current versions. In addition, document was reformatted and typographical and grammatical errors were corrected. i ii iii Table of Contents Introduction to Indiana Forest Legacy Program AON 2019 Revision .......................................................... i Forest Service Forest Legacy Program Acceptance Letter .......................................................................... ii State of Purpose .......................................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................................ iv List of Maps ................................................................................................................................................. vi Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................... viii List of Stewardship Coordinating Committee Members ........................................................................... ix List of Forest Legacy Subcommittee Members ........................................................................................... x Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 1 Indiana Forests: Forest Resources ............................................................................................................... 3 Historical Perspective ................................................................................................................................ 3 Ownership Patterns of Indiana Forests ..................................................................................................... 4 Forest Distribution and Composition ........................................................................................................ 6 Forest Plant Diversity .............................................................................................................................. 10 Forest Animals and Wildlife Habitat ....................................................................................................... 11 Recreation ............................................................................................................................................... 13 Aesthetics and Scenic Resources ............................................................................................................ 13 Economics ............................................................................................................................................... 13 Urban Forests .......................................................................................................................................... 14 Unique Natural Areas .............................................................................................................................. 14 Fisheries, Rivers, and Streams................................................................................................................. 15 Indiana Forests: Related Resources ........................................................................................................... 16 Geology, Topography, and other Geological Features ........................................................................... 16 Soils ......................................................................................................................................................... 16 Agriculture............................................................................................................................................... 17 Minerals, Oil and Gas Resources ............................................................................................................. 18 Cultural Resources .................................................................................................................................. 18 Indiana Forests: Critical Issues and Environmental Impacts .................................................................... 19 Fragmentation ......................................................................................................................................... 19 Non-native Plant Species ........................................................................................................................ 20 Inappropriate Timber Management ....................................................................................................... 21 Water Quality and Quantity .................................................................................................................... 21 iv Conserving the Forest Base ..................................................................................................................... 21 Existing Measures to Conserve Forest Lands ............................................................................................ 23 Land Trusts in Indiana ................................................................................................................................ 25 Public Participation Process ....................................................................................................................... 27 Forest Legacy Program in Indiana .............................................................................................................. 30 Eligibility Criteria for Forest Legacy Areas............................................................................................... 31 Assessment of Forest Areas .................................................................................................................... 32 Recommended Forest Legacy Areas ....................................................................................................... 47 Literature Cited........................................................................................................................................... 50 Appendix A Forest Legacy Descriptions ..................................................................................................... 53 Southwest Bottomland ........................................................................................................................... 57 Blue River / Knobstone Escarpment ....................................................................................................... 62 Bluegrass ................................................................................................................................................. 68 Maumee Basin ........................................................................................................................................ 73 Northwest Moraine ................................................................................................................................. 78 Shawnee Hills / Highland Rim ................................................................................................................. 82 Appendix B Indiana Forest Legacy Landowner Application Package ....................................................... 89 Appendix C Authorization Documents ...................................................................................................... 90 Governor’s Letter Designating Forest Legacy Lead Agency .................................................................... 91 Minutes from 6/26/97 SFSCC Meeting approving pursuance of Indiana FLP......................................... 92 Forest Stewardship Committee Acceptance of Final Assessment of Need ............................................ 93 Appendix D Public Involvement Process and Comments ......................................................................... 94 Introductory and Issues Letter ................................................................................................................ 95 Issues and Opinion Form ......................................................................................................................... 96 Letter to State and Federal Officials ....................................................................................................... 97 Comment Letter .................................................................................................................................... 100 Issues Summary and Response Letter .................................................................................................