Logging in State Forests & State Parks THE ISSUE House Bill 153 recently opened state parks to commercial logging for the first time ever. Park areas have been zoned for clearcutting, and the Ohio Division of Forestry (DOF) plans to administer sales of park timber starting this year. DOF continues to favor the environmentally destructive practice of clearcutting on our state forests. Only a very small portion of our state forests is protected from future logging. Once 95% forested, Ohio is now only 30% forested. Most forests in the state are young, highly fragmented, and riddled with non-native, invasive species. Overall, there is a lack of interior or “deep” forest habitat that would support interior forest and headwater stream species. Similarly, there is a drastic shortage of desirable natural areas for public recreation: Ohio ranks 47th in the nation in public land available for recreation per capita and 7th in population. Fewer than 13% of Ohio’s forests are publicly owned. Despite these facts, Ohio’s state forests are managed primarily for logging purposes. Ohio’s 21 state forests comprise 191,000 acres (0.7% of Ohio’s land base) and the Wayne National Forest comprises 234,000 acres (0.8% of Ohio’s land base). While small in percentage, these public areas are critical because they provide the state with larger tracts of contiguous forestland than typically found on private land. Thus, public lands provide an opportunity to preserve and restore healthy and diverse forest ecosystems, while providing for species habitat and low-impact recreational opportunities.
Briefing Book 2012
THE NEED
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Managing state forests for biological and recreational services instead of timber production is a high-benefit commodity that cannot be provided by the private sector or most private landowners. State forests and state parks are uniquely situated to provide one of the most endangered ecosystem habitats in the eastern United States: large tracts of unfragmented interior forestlands.