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Abstract
As publicly owned forest land, the Morgan-Monroe and Yellowwood State Forests (Indiana), referred to herein as the Morgan-Monroe Yellowwood Complex (MMYC), have many stakeholders with differing management expectations. The Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment (HEE) within the MMYC will significantly increase the science-based information available for forest management decisions. The primary focus of HEE is the impacts of alternative timber management systems on associated communities of flora and fauna. The results will be used to evaluate tradeoffs associated with mixes of silvicultural treatments. Rogers et al. (this publication) found that the values recreationists and adjacent landowners associate with forest scenes declined with decreasing stand density. The range of values ascribed to forests is discussed in this paper to provide a broader context for interpretation and application of HEE findings. Particular emphasis is given to monetized institutional values using discounted cash flow analyses of silvicultural treatments. The results indicate that land expectation values are lower for silvicultural treatments with lower stand densities because of higher opportunity costs from pushing timber revenues into the future. The implications of these findings were found to differ depending on management objectives and the scale at which decisions are made.
Parent Publication
Keywords
bats,
beetles,
birds,
Central Hardwoods,
experiment,
forest management,
human attitudes,
Indiana,
moths,
oak,
reptiles,
salamanders,
silviculture,
small mammals,
wildlife
Citation
Hoover, William L. 2013. Value of the Morgan-Monroe-Yellowwood State Forest Complex. In: Swihart, Robert K.; Saunders, Michael R.; Kalb, Rebecca A.; Haulton, G. Scott; Michler, Charles H., eds. 2013. The Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment: a framework for studying responses to forest management. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-108. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 287-313.
