{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Controversy over Midwest Forest Management","description":"A controversy over public lands\u2019 management in Indiana\u2019s 204,000-acre Hoosier National Forest turns out to be a microcosm of a burning (pun intended) national debate over using fire and targeted logging operations to create habitat for wildlife and a healthier, more diverse and more resilient forest. From the 1960s to 80s, The U.S. Forest Service, in the grip of the so-called \u201ctimber beast\u201d style of management, clear-cut millions of acres of publicly owned forestland, leading to widespread loss of wildlife, sediment-filled streams, and a furious backlash from conservationists. A barrage of successful lawsuits from environmental and conservation groups radically changed public land management, often for the good of the land, water and wildlife. But that same backlash, and the habit of filing lawsuits to block or guide public lands management, have posed extreme challenges in the decades since\u2014critically-needed projects to restore native ecosystems and wildlife habitats have been blocked, management has in some cases been brought to a standstill, and a growing body of evidence shows that we have gone too far on certain parts of our public lands in simply \u201cletting nature take its course.\u201d It\u2019s not a debate over \u201cwilderness versus logging and roads\u201d as it is sometimes framed. It\u2019s not about the fallibility of human-directed land management versus the eternal wisdom of nature. It\u2019s about a lot more than that, and it has national implications. Join us for a conversation with three Hoosier hunters and conservation leaders who\u2019ve found themselves on the frontline of this controversy\u2014BHA Chapter Coordinator Jameson Hibbs, BHA Indiana chapter board member Brian Stone, and Michael Spalding, of the Conservation Law Center, a professional forester from a multi-generation Indiana farming family who has worked in 55 of Indiana\u2019s 92 counties over the course of his career.   --- The Podcast & Blast with Hal Herring is brought you by Backcountry Hunters & Anglers and presented by Silencer Central, with additional support from Decked and Dometic. Join Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, the voice for your wild public lands, waters, and wildlife to be part of a passionate community of hunter-angler-conservationists.  BHA. THE VOICE FOR OUR WILD PUBLIC LANDS, WATERS AND WILDLIFE. Follow us: Web: https:\/\/www.backcountryhunters.org Instagram: @backcountryhunters Facebook: @backcountryhunters ","author_name":"Backcountry Hunters & Anglers Podcast & Blast with Hal Herring","author_url":"http:\/\/backcountryhunters.libsyn.com\/website","html":"