A significant Forest Service plan to improve the health of the 204,000-acre Hoosier National Forest in southern Indiana will help to solidify the value of the Forest as one of the primary quality of life assets in the outdoor recreation-rich section of Indiana. The Buffalo Springs Restoration Project is a multiyear project that will help to replace non-native pine trees with the more typical hardwood forests that exist in southern Indiana, helping to increase wildlife habitat and reduce health issues that are harming certain trees in the Forest.
The Buffalo Springs project is expected to use tools ranging from prescribed burns to herbicide spot treatment to tree stand thinning to reduce tree density in some unhealthy portions of the forest as well as limit the amount of oak wilt found among the trees. The project will also improve riparian habitat with improvements to eight stream flow structures and will reduce sediment deposition into streams. The Forest Service is currently working with environmental groups who object to or are seeking changes to parts of the plan.
For southern Indiana, the extensive hardwood forests among the hills and valleys of the unglaciated lower third of Indiana have proven to be an enduring economic engine which among other things led to the historic development of the furniture manufacturing industry that still flourishes in the region. The region is also noteworthy for the number of sawmills and the timber procurement industry that rewards numerous small landowners across more than a dozen counties in the region. And outdoors recreation in the Hoosier National Forest remains a draw for numerous tourists who visit the region to enjoy the 266 miles of hiking trails in the forest.