DNR discusses forest with public

As people gathered to discuss the management of Yellowwood State Forest, the ice-covered trees hovering overhead seemed to be listening.\nThe Department of Natural Resources held an open forum Tuesday at Yellowwood designed to inform the public of its policies regarding management of the forest and to collect public input. \nLess than an hour before the four-hour forum was to end, 71 people had attended. About 60 were expected, said Jim Allen, property manager for Yellowwood State Forest. \nThe open forum comes about three months after the end of the Yellowwood tree-sit, when about 20 activists camped for eight months in a tree they named Prometheus. Allen said the publicity garnered by the tree-sit and a bill introduced in the State Legislature by Rep. Mark Kruzan, D-Bloomington, proposing a ban on all logging on state forest land drew more people to the open house.\nAfter the tree-sit ended, the DNR announced 11 open forums that would be held at each of the state forests. \nThe public was invited to fill out forms to voice opinions to the DNR, which will be compiled within 30 days, said state forester Burney Fischer, who oversees all Indiana's state forests. He said the comments will be compiled for use by each forest property manager.\nDisplays and pamphlets were available in the front room of the Yellowwood office about recreation and recent cuts to the DNR budget, which have forced the year-round operation of many campgrounds and other areas in Yellowwood and Morgan-Monroe State Forests and strained the workload of DNR staff because of a hiring freeze. Down a small corridor, more people lingered, clutching cookies and discussing forest issues in another room displaying information about timber management.\nIndiana Forest Alliance members, outspoken in the fight against logging, said they were disappointed the forum wasn't in a formal town-hall meeting style and said it would not have been held without the pressure of the tree-sit and other activities, such as letter writing.\n"I think it's a direct result of us clamoring for more opportunities to be a part of the future of this place and speak out for things that don't have a voice," said Joshua Martin, coordinator of the Alliance.\nBut Fischer said the DNR had been planning a forum before the tree-sit to publicize the DNR's role in light of a pending budget cut.\n"If we were only concerned about (Yellowwood) we would have done one on one forest," he said. \nA variety of people at the forum, which included activists, neighbors of the forest and loggers, already developed their own opinion about logging on state-forest land, said Hal Kaina, a state forester. About 60 percent of attendants he talked to were against logging, while 40 percent were satisfied with the current policy, he said.\nKara Reagan, who is active in the Alliance, said the forum was drawing people on opposite sides of the issues, not necessarily neutral members of the public who have not fully developed an opinion about logging.\n"It's not exactly preaching to the choir, but it doesn't seem like it's been much of an outreach thing," she said. "It is an opportunity for people who are already interested to come and talk."\nKaina said the DNR office has always been open to public input and that forums like these help to inform people who hold misconceptions.\nMartin said some of the information presented was twisted to promote the mentality that interfering with the natural processes of a forest is acceptable.\n"You've got to admit it is a PR thing," Kaina said. "But that's not necessarily a bad thing"