October 8, 2004

Field day offers helpful info on managing woodlands, wildlife

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Private landowners will have the opportunity to learn more about managing forestry and wildlife on their property during the Southern Indiana-Purdue University Agricultural Center field day on Oct. 23.

"With this field day we hope to provide landowners with the basic educational information so they can better manage and appreciate their home woodland and wildlife areas," said Jim Peter, Extension educator in Dubois County.

The Southern Indiana-Purdue Ag Center is located on Purdue Farm Road near the northwest end of Patoka Lake in Dubois, Ind.

The field day agenda includes talks on management, harvesting and regeneration of forests, as well as talks on wildlife and pond management. The event is free and open to the public. Preregistration is required by calling the Soil and Water Conservation District at (812) 482-1171, Ext. 3.

Registration begins at 8 a.m. and the program will conclude at 4 p.m. There also will be a free lunch available for all who attend.

The field day will begin with:

• A welcome and outline for the day at 8:50 a.m.

• History of forestry at the Southern Indiana-Purdue Ag Center at 9 a.m.

• Core forestry issues, including management planning, harvests, regeneration, timber stand improvement and wildlife presented by local foresters at 9:15 a.m.

From 9:50-11:30 a.m., there will be three concurrent sessions each lasting 45 minutes. Each participant will have the option of attending two sessions during this time. These sessions include

• Timber grading, where participants will learn the qualities good, fair and poor timber.

• Marketing and managing private timber.

• Pond management, with general information on fish stocking and aquatic plant control.

For an alternative choice, participants can attend a Dutch oven cooking demonstration from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

During lunch from 11:30 to 1 p.m., there will be an opportunity to visit with local vendors. Vendor products will include wood stoves, chainsaws and other outdoor supplies. Also during lunch, there will be presentations on firewood safety and chainsaw safety.

Following lunch the program will continue from 1-2:30 p.m. with a logging demonstration including tree felling, horse logging and small-woods equipment usage. Also during this time, there will be a walking tour available featuring an introduction to tree identification and simple forest management tips.

From 2:30-4 p.m. there will be a wildlife tour, which will include talks on food plots, open areas, the bobwhite quail initiative and managing timber for wildlife. Also during this time, there will be a forestry tour featuring talks on tree planting, exotic and invasive insect control, and the effects of logging.

For more information, contact Peter at (812) 482-1782, jpeter@purdue.edu.

CONTACT: Peter at (812) 482-1782, jpeter@purdue.edu

Writer: Meggie Issler, (765) 494-8402, missler@purdue.edu

Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722; Beth Forbes, forbes@purdue.edu
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