SUSTAINING DIVERSITY OF LIFE THROUGH TREE PLANTING
Allen Pursell, Registered Forester, blue River Project Manager, the Nature Conservancy of Indiana
The Nature Conservancy of Indiana has pursued an ambitious tree planting program since 1993 when it become clear that many threatened aquatic animals could benefit from forested stream corridors. Since that time over 500,000 seedlings have been planted along Fish Creek in Steuben and Dekalb Counties, Blue River in Crawford, Harrison, and Washington Counties, and at the Big Walnut Natural Area in Putnam County. Most, but not all, of these seedlings have been planted on the property of small, private landowners interested in conserving soil and water as well as growing as future timber crop.
Our conservation objectives of enhancing rivers and streams that contain rare species needing clean water could not be met without reforestation through tree planting. And no where has this been more clear than at Fish Creek where nearly 550 acres of steam side and highly erodible uplands have been returned to forested cover. It has been shown that many tons of soil have been kept on the land and out of the stream as a result.
Given the interest of private landowners at both Fish Creek and Blue River we expect to continue planting an additional 80,000 seedlings per year to promote cleaner streams. In addition, The Nature Conservancy in cooperation with a Cinergy Corporation will undertake to plant 45,000 seedlings per year for five years to offset carbon emissions from the generation of electricity while at the some time increasing the amount of forested land surrounding some unique natural areas of the state, especially Big Walnut.
None of this would be possible without the availability of high-quality stock from the DNR nurseries at Jasper-Pulaski and Vallonia. We are grateful for their role in our work and we will continue to rely on them fully in the coming years.