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Last updated on Thursday, December 21, 2017
(NASHVILLE) - The first truckloads of lumber have left the Yellowwood Forest in Brown County.
Crews have started logging 300 acres in the forest. The trees are set to be harvested in an area that covers Brown and parts of Monroe counties, and some of the trees are more than 150 years old.
A logging company bought the rights to 1,700 trees for just more than $100,000.
DNR spokesman Phil Bloom said the typical cut for a backcountry area is five to six trees per acre, as prescribed by the single selection cut method meant to be used in such woodlands. The management guides for these tracts, however, suggest that number could be much larger.
According to the plans' harvest volume, the logging could generate between roughly 475,000 to 712,000 board feet of timber -- which could equate to as many as 30 to 40 trees per acre.
Some activists are concerned the logging will disrupt hiking trails and animal habitats. Anne Laker, director of communications and administration for the Indiana Forest Alliance, says making a quick buck is not worth jeopardizing the beauty of the state.
Indiana's Department of Natural Resources says logging the forest will actually help it grow stronger.
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