Why some outdoor recreation groups oppose Sen. Braun's wilderness expansion

Corrections & clarifications: An earlier version of this story indicated The Nature Conservancy of Indiana had publicly opposed the legislation. However, the organization says they were unknowingly added to the letter. IndyStar has reached out to the letter’s organizer for more information. 

Sen. Mike Braun has proposed to expand Indiana’s wilderness and add a national recreation area, but a group of environmental advocates and outdoor sports enthusiasts have banded together to oppose the idea.

Braun proposed legislation to the U.S. Senate that would double the boundary of the Charles C. Deam wilderness and add 30,000 recreation acres within the Hoosier National Forest, a move forest advocates initially championed.

“I’m proud of the bill we’ve introduced to create a wilderness area that preserves our state’s natural beauty for generations and a recreation area so Hoosiers can enjoy even more outdoor activities in the Hoosier National Forest — and the local area can reap the economic benefits that recreation brings,” Braun said in an email.

Previously: Proposal would double size of Charles C. Deam Wilderness area in Hoosier National Forest

Braun’s bill would expand the wilderness in Monroe and Brown counties to about 28,000 acres and designate another roughly 30,000 acres of adjacent land for the National Recreation Area.

But Braun’s legislation isn’t an expansion in the way people normally think about it, Scott Salmon, with the Indiana chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, said. The bill would just add restrictions on what kinds of recreation and management can be done.

“No new land is protected,” Salmon said.

Groups opposed to the proposed bill have come together to voice their concerns as the legislation waits for a hearing at the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.

Outdoor recreation groups such as the National Deer Association, National Wild Turkey Federation and the Ruffed Grouse Society have joined Hoosier Mountain Bikers Association and Indiana Society of American Foresters, among others, are signed to a letter sent to Braun's office against the wilderness expansion.

Salmon said the group is always trying to find common ground with the conservation community since it’s so small and underfunded and doesn’t have the funding for land acquisition.

“We agree with 95% of the issues,” Salmon said. “This is one issue where we have disagreements.”

The wilderness designation creates a framework that excludes the use of machinery for maintenance to preserve the acres of forest forever. Groups opposed to the bill argue that regular management, including burns and timbering, is vital to the ruffed grouse and other wildlife that depend on young forests not typically seen in unmanaged lands.

Jon Steigerwaldt, with the Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society, said active forest management advances forest succession, allowing for new growth to take place.

“So, species like ruffed grouse actually require a diversity of forest habitats,” Steigerwaldt said. “So without that diversity of these age classes of forests within relative proximity (to each other), you don't have habitat for a bird that used to be in relative abundance in Indiana 20, 30 years ago.”

Braun’s office said that a portion of the Hoosier National Forest should remain undisturbed wilderness and that modern equipment cannot be used within the wilderness areas to stay compliant with the Wilderness Act of 1964.

The boundary of the bill would overlay most of the U.S. Forestry Service’s Houston South management plan that calls for logging and burns to create successional forest and revitalize new growth. Because the legislation is still in committee, USFS won't comment on the bill.

Paul Arlinghaus, with the Hoosier Mountain Bikers Association, said the wilderness designation affects a large amount of people and that some level of compromise is needed to balance the needs of the community.

“Braun reached out to Bicycle Indiana. We were never involved in this process, and they tried to get a non-mountain biking group to sign on to it,” Arlinghaus said.

In response, Braun said there’s still room to be heard.

“…  as with any bold plan there are organizations that have different perspectives, and as always I’m going to listen closely to those concerns, clarify where there has been misconceptions, and try to bring everybody to the table to find solutions that all parties can accept as this bill moves through the transparent process of becoming public law,” Braun said.

Karl Schneider is an IndyStar environment reporter. You can reach him at karl.schneider@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @karlstartswithk

IndyStar's environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Mike Braun's Deam wilderness expansion opposed by recreation groups