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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe low, low price of $10.16 per tree.
No, we are not talking about Christmas trees in 1965. We are talking about full-grown pines and maples and poplars and oaks, etc., in 2021.
We, the people of the state of Indiana, sold 984 trees in the forest to the highest bidder at a timber sale at Salamonie State Forest on Nov. 30. There was only one bid for $10,000, so we sold it for that.
Think about that. Would you sell your mature trees for $10.16 per tree to someone coming in to log your property? Many people do not know whether that is a decent price or a bad price. Well, on the private market, “poor quality” timber sells for 16 cents per board foot. This timber went for the low, low price of 6 cents per board foot.
It is past time to hold the Department of Natural Resources accountable for its mismanagement. Remember, they are running the forest for the benefit of us. They are not running it for themselves. Eric Holcomb is not king, and [DNR officials] Dan Bortner and John Seifert are not the sheriffs of Nottingham. Those days are over.
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Jeff Marks
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