Cortney Mycroft, Project Coordinator Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources (765) S TATUS OF I NDIANA ’ S L ONG - TERM F OREST R ESEARCH P ROJECT

Nine Study Units in South Central Indiana 9 miles18 miles

Comparing Uneven- and Even-Aged Management to Maintain Oaks

Uneven-Aged Research Cores Single Tree Selection 1-, 3-, & 5-acre Openings Resembles current state forest practice 20 acres (~10%) in openings with the remaining area with single-tree selection for this rotation only Next rotation will be single-tree only.

Even-Aged Research Cores Clearcut Shelterwood No Treatment (this round of harvest) 40 acres (~20%) in openings for each 20-year rotation

Control Research Cores No Treatment

Long-term monitoring Bowers photo Vegetation – overstory and herbaceous Woodland Salamanders Breeding Songbirds

Factors keeping an acorn from becoming a tree… Mast production and weevil infestation Deer predation Small mammal populations and acorn consumption

Species of Interest Timber Rattlesnake State Endangered Cerulean Warbler State Endangered Indiana Bat Federally Endangered Eastern Box Turtle Special Concern

Visitor and Neighbor Opinion Survey ~3,000 visitor and neighbor surveys administered last fall…

Timeline June 2006 – December 2008 –Baseline Data Collected July 2008 – February 2009 –Harvests January 2009 – March 2009 –Deer Exclosures Installed June 2009 –Post Harvest Sampling Begins

Current Research/Funding Partners IDNR Division of Forestry Purdue University –Forestry and Natural Resources –Entomology Indiana State University Ball State University Drake University The Nature Conservancy IDNR Division of Fish and Wildlife IDNR Division of State Parks and Reservoirs

So much more to learn! Our project is still in its infancy. We’re interested in understanding ecological impacts of harvesting in Indiana’s forests… …Not interested in reinventing the wheel!

“When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.” ~ John Muir (1911)