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Last updated on Tuesday, June 12, 2018
(BEDFORD) - The Hoosier National Forest (NF) will soon host a second dialogue opportunity aimed at bringing together a diverse group of interested parties to discuss future management needs for the Hoosier NF.
Stakeholders with an interest in Hoosier NF land and management practices will be participating in this discussion, and anyone with an interest in the National Forest may attend this meeting on Thursday, June 14th from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Stonegate Arts and Education Center, 405 I St. in Bedford.
This follow-up meeting to an event held in April will focus on providing an overview of the existing Forest Plan, updates on the status of project implementation under that plan since it was finalized in 2006, and describing gaps between the desired conditions outlined in the plan and actual conditions. Hoosier NF employees will work to identify what management actions illicit the strongest interests amongst the group for future collaboration. In addition to presentations by Hoosier NF staff, this gathering will be interactive in an effort to identify specific areas, programs or projects that the group may be interested in collaboratively working on in the future. Active participation is encouraged in order to provide input on desires and needs from the Hoosier National Forest.
The current Forest Plan is not undergoing revision so this meeting will remain focused on implementing the existing plan, not re-writing it.
According to Forest Supervisor Mike Chaveas, "This is an opportunity for a diverse group of stakeholders to discuss shared perspectives on management of the National Forest, not just with Hoosier National Forest staff, but with one another as well. Engagement from the public in decisions on how their National Forest is managed is critical to ensure the greatest good for this public land for future generations. We are hoping that this meeting will be the first of many future, citizen driven, collaborative engagements around the management of the National Forest. A representative cross-section of engaged stakeholders will be necessary for success of this effort."
To ask questions or learn more, please contact Andrea Crain (acrain@fs.fed.us). RSVPs to help us assess the anticipated attendance level are appreciated.
The U.S. Forest Service is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a mission of sustaining the health, diversity and productivity of the nation's forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. The Forest Service's Eastern Region includes twenty states in the Midwest and East, stretching from Maine, to Maryland, to Missouri, to Minnesota. There are 17 national forests and one national tallgrass prairie in the Eastern Region. For more information, visit www.fs.usda.gov/R9.
The U.S. Forest Service manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, and maintains the largest forestry research organization in the world. Public lands the Forest Service manages contribute more than $13 billion to the economy each year through visitor spending alone. Those same lands provide 20 percent of the nation's clean water supply, a value estimated at $7.2 billion per year. The agency has either a direct or indirect role in stewardship of about 80 percent of the 850 million forested acres within the U.S., of which 100 million acres are urban forests where most Americans live. For more information, visit www.fs.usda.gov/.
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