Written by Margaret Harper
Thursday, 26 April 2007
Members of the group Friends of White's Woods questioned the White Township supervisors regarding the status of a forestry management plan and pleaded against acceptance of the plan at Wednesday's meeting.
Drafted by local forester Dave Babyak, the plan calls for the removal of 550,000 board-feet of trees from the forest in a 10-year period. The primary goal of the plan, according to Babyak and the supervisors, is to protect and enhance the forest.
But members of Friends of White's Woods disagree and have openly opposed the project in previous weeks.
A copy of the entire plan is available at the township's new Web site, www.whitetownship.org.
Christine Kesner asked the supervisors if a public forum would be scheduled about the issue. Township manager Larry Garner replied that a meeting has not yet been set and probably will not take place until June due to issues with time.
The supervisors might set a date at the next meeting, said Bob Overdorff, board chairman.
Township resident Michael Scott referred to a July 12, 1995, Indiana Gazette article in which Ford Buterbaugh, road superintendent at the time, said it was the township's intention to add a pavilion and parking area at White's Woods. Scott asked why this hasn't happened and offered to have the group research grant funding for natural areas for similar work.
He said that a local planner, Bill Paxton, has offered to meet with the supervisors to walk through the woods and explain what could be done and why the current proposal should not be accepted.
"Vote 'no' on the proposed timbering, and work with us to create a plan that will not only improve the park, but generate tourism and education," he said.
The group would like to see nature education programs for children, including tree trails, with information about Pennsylvania's trees, and a place to teach classes, such as what to do if you get lost in the woods, Scott said. He also said he believes that White's Woods could be a part of the downtown revitalization, offering a nature walk only three blocks from Philadelphia Street.
He encouraged the supervisors to act in a timely manner on the project because as long as the issue continues, it will be harder to come to an agreement, he said.
"I want to refer to the saying 'you can't see the forest for the trees,'" he said. "What this means is that you focus on one detail so much that you can't see all the other things that offer a solution. I am offering you these solutions, and ask that your focus turn from the one to the many, and work with us to make something good come from this, and create a situation where there are no losers."
Also in the public comment portion of the meeting, Larry Stadtmiller defended what he believed to be "low blows and insinuations" regarding Babyak's work in recent newspaper articles and discussions. He suggested the supervisors show the public what will happen to the forest using 10 acres as a demonstration plan for the project.