HOOSIER NATIONAL FOREST — The Indiana Forest Alliance (IFA) released a study that supports the expansion of the Charles Deam Wilderness area and establishment of the Benjamin Harrison National Recreation Area (NRA) as essential for the long-term resilience and economic success of Indiana.
Nature’s Value in Indiana’s Wilderness, produced by Earth Economics, estimates that the proposed expansion area will produce at least $235 million in annual benefits, totaling $5.4 billion over 30 years.
“Healthy natural areas, such as forests, wetlands, grasslands, rivers, and lakes, can be thought of as a type of capital—natural capital—since these assets provide benefits known as ecosystem services,” stated Angela Fletcher, Senior Researcher and Data Manager at Earth Economics. “Indiana’s forests provide clean and accessible water, clean air, and recreational opportunities, while absorbing rain and holding soil in place to safeguard downstream communities. Fully informed land management must consider such benefits.”
Of the twelve ecosystem services tracked in the study, ” aesthetic value” produces the most
value, with “recreation” ranking 4th for a combined annual value of $90.3 million.
“The size and scenic beauty of this island of wild nature is unsurpassed in the lower Midwest. There is no natural forested area this large on public land anywhere in the states of Indiana, Ohio, or Illinois,” states Jason Flickner, IFA’s new Executive Director.
“It’s no wonder that nearly 40 percent of the value found from expanding the Deam Wilderness and establishing Benjamin Harrison National Recreation Area will come from protecting wild scenery and providing recreational opportunities available nowhere else in the nation’s industrial heartland,” adds Flickner.
The report provides examples of recreational outfitters and supply stores, mountain biking businesses, restaurants, hotels, and horseback camps that will benefit, and predicts a boost for many other businesses if these recreational areas are protected
According to the Chamber of Commerce and Indiana Department of Natural Resources, outdoor recreation currently generates $1.2 billion in state and local tax revenue and supports more than 105,000 jobs in Indiana.
“The protection of Monroe Reservoir as the sole source of drinking water for more than 130,000 residents and sole water supply for hundreds of businesses in South Central Indiana is also extremely important, with the study estimating that establishing the expanded wilderness and recreation area will generate more than $47 million annually by capturing and conveying clean water,” explains IFA’s Hoosier National Forest Advisor and report co-author, Jeff Stant, who adds, “Monroe Reservoir provides a foundation for the economic health of the entire South Central Indiana region which is why policies that conserve undisturbed forest on steep hillsides in this Lake’s watershed make a great deal of common sense.”
Stant explains that IFA will use the results of the study to make the case in Congress for the reintroduction of legislation to more than double the Deam Wilderness Area and establish the Benjamin Harrison National Recreation Area on nearly 30,000 acres of surrounding national forest land in the Hoosier National Forest. The legislation was introduced as S. 2990 and S. 4202 by Governor Braun as a US Senator in 2023 and 2024. The report’s authors would also like to see the calculation of nature’s value embedded into policy and budgets by agencies and local governments when planning infrastructure, to evaluate land-use changes, or help allocate funds.
