Forestry Field Events, Workshops, & Demonstration Forests for Landowners
Prescribed Fire Field Tour for Landowners Set for Tuesday, April 29
A Prescribed Fire Field Tour for landowners is scheduled on Tuesday, April 29 from 6 PM to 9 PM EDT. Ron Rathfon, Purdue Extension Forester will lead a tour of tracts recently managed using prescribed fire at the Southern Indiana Purdue Agriculture Center (SIPAC), near Dubois. Brian Finch, IDNR Wildlife Specialist and Patoka Lake Assistant Property Manager will assist with the tour. Judi Brown, Let the Sun Shine In – Indiana Coordinator and Doug Terrill, Hoosier Hills Prescribed Burn Association are also on the agenda.
The Field Tour will begin and end at the Education Building at SIPAC, located at 11371 E Purdue Farm Rd, Dubois, IN 47527. Plan on entering the main doors when you arrive. Onsite registration begins at 6 PM, boarding vehicles at 6:20, with the tour from 6:30 to 8:30. Additional topics and any additional questions will be addressed indoors after the tour, with the evening to conclude at 9 PM.
Topics to be covered include Indiana’s fire history, the benefits and drawbacks of fire as a forest management tool, fire behavior, creating and using burn plans, fire safety, tools used for prescribed fire, Indiana’s laws regarding prescribed fire, and assistance available through USDA Farm Bill programs. Tour participants will either carpool or ride a Purdue trailer to the various sites. There will be minimal walking in a hilly forest to view and learn about the sites. Participants should wear appropriate clothing and footwear for walking in the woods on a late April evening. A small sample burn will take place during the tour.
Pre-registration is requested. Contact Judi Brown, Let the Sun Shine In-Indiana Coordinator at 812-631-4904, or [email protected], for more information, or to register. In the event of inclement weather, the tour will be postponed. Registered attendees will be notified.
Sponsors for the Prescribed Fire Field Tour are Purdue Cooperative Extension Service, IDNR Division of State Parks and Let the Sun Shine In-Indiana. Let the Sun Shine In-Indiana (www.letthesunshinein-indiana.com) is a collaboration of Indiana organizations, including Purdue Extension and Indiana Department of Natural Resources, focused on recovering and maintaining Indiana’s oak-hickory ecosystems for the benefit of the wildlife and the people of Indiana.
Demonstration Forests
Let the Sun Shine In – Indiana and its partners are developing Demonstration Forests across Southern Indiana. They feature easily replicated management practices. They are implemented to improve the forest ecosystem.
Our Demonstration Forests showcase various silvicultural treatments used to regenerate oaks and native biodiversity. Visitors will walk through the Oak-Hickory Ecosystem in these areas, and see that active management is required for ecosystem restoration and maintenance. Forest stands in various stages of treatment will be contrasted with untreated control areas. Our goal for the Demonstration Forests is to communicate the importance of our Oak-Hickory Ecosystem. We encourage all landowners to manage the ecosystem across property lines, across the landscape. This creates large areas of managed oak forests and woodlands. Private lands participating in these management efforts also results in larger blocks of habitat for priority songbirds.
Hitz-Rhodehamel Woods
The Nature Conservancy, Indiana (TNC) manages one of the Demonstration Forests in Brown County, near Nashville, Indiana. The Hitz-Rhodehamel Woods is a large, high-quality forest spanning ridge tops, ravines and upland areas. This property is a mature oak forest with high ridges and steep ravines. It is blanketed in spring with wildflowers and full of color in the fall. The Hoosier Hikers Council collaborated with The Nature Conservancy in 2012 to build a three-mile trail that loops around the 484-acre Hitz-Rhodehamel Nature Preserve. Access is from Bear Wallow Road.
Southeast Indiana Purdue Agriculture Center (SEPAC) Forestry Demonstration Area
LSSI partners are actively creating the SEPAC Forestry Demonstration Area at the Southeast Indiana Purdue Agriculture Center. SEPAC works in cooperation with the Purdue Forestry and Natural Resources Department, and manage the agriculture lands and natural resources to provide research, teaching, and demonstration opportunities for all. The Forestry Demonstration Area is on Camp Holland Road; see circled area in photo. Keep an eye on this page: there will be real time images of the management strategies as they are implemented.
