Forestry course to help landowners manage woodlands
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Indiana’s forestry industry will be featured in a workshop for landowners interested in improving their woodlands.
The Moonlight Forestry Course will be 6:30-9 p.m. Oct. 18 and 25 on the Ivy Tech Marion campus at Interstate 69 and state Route 18. It will conclude with a field day Oct. 30 from 9 a.m. to noon at Miller-Purdue Woodlands near Upland.
The first session will feature an introduction to Indiana’s forests and discussion on historic forest management. The second session will focus on forest management practices that can improve the quality and production of Indiana woodlots. Each evening also will include a session on tree identification.
During the field day, workshop participants will see principles of forest management in action as they visit Miller-Purdue Woodlands, consisting of more than 180 acres. The woodlands has had numerous timber harvests, tree plantings, research projects and other management practices since its acquisition in 1938.
Presenters include Ron Rathfon, Purdue University regional extension forester; Don Carlson, Purdue forester and property manager for Miller-Purdue Woodlands; and Brad Rody and Hank Hefner, Indiana Department of Natural Resources district foresters.
Workshop organizer John Woodmansee of Purdue Extension Grant County said the course will benefit woodland owners who want to use their timber resources effectively.
"If you own a woodland, this will help you better manage that woodland," Woodmansee said. "It will give you a return on your investment. You can also manage it for wildlife and aesthetic and recreational purposes."
Registration for all three days is $15 per person and includes course materials and light refreshments. The registration form is due Oct. 13 and is available online at https://www.ag.purdue.edu/counties/grant under "Hot Local Topics." For more information, contact Woodmansee at 765-651-2413.
The book "101 Trees of Indiana" by Marion T. Jackson and other materials may be available at the workshop for purchase.
The course is sponsored by the Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, the Forestry Division of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and Purdue Extension Grant County. It is the first course in a series of woodland management programs planned for the next two years in east-central Indiana.
Writer: Elise Brown, 765-494-8402, brown222@purdue.edu
Source: John Woodmansee, 765-651-2413, jwoodman@purdue.edu
Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722;
Keith Robinson, robins89@purdue.edu
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