With about 200 protesters looking on, timber buyers submitted their bids Thursday to the Department of Natural Resources for their chance to log parts of the Yellowwood Back Country Area. The bids started as low as $70,160 while the winning bid, entered by Sullivan County-based Hamilton Logging, Inc., came in at $108,785.

But there was one intriguing — and more lucrative — offer that wasn't considered.

That offer was delivered by Daniel Antes, founder of Distinctive Hardwood Floors in Brown County. According to a letter read by Antes, hardwood executive Bobby R. Bartlet was willing to pay the DNR $150,000 — not to cut down the trees, but to preserve them for 100 years.

"We want to preserve this public legacy," Antes told IndyStar after the sale. "Our goal was to get the sale to stop and give DNR the funding they're looking for and (they) actually got substantially less than we offered."

The state would not comment on the $150,000 offer. According to Division of Forestry rules, only licensed timber buyers are permitted to bid on timber sales. Antes said the group would discuss if a similar offer could sway the winning bidder.

If that doesn't happen, those who want to to save the trees will have lost their battle. Because the state would not comment on Bartlet's offer, it's not clear whether the state could have called off the auction or otherwise taken advantage of what turned out to be an additional $40,000 above the winning bid.

The delivery of Bartlet's offer coincided with a protest of this morning's timber sale during which the couple hundred Hoosiers urged DNR to stop the sale and preserve the forest. About 1,730 trees were included in the sale, which amounts to 447,644 board feet, according to the timber sale notice.

Among the protesters were Brown County residents, environmentalists, representatives of the local hardwood industry, and members of the Indiana Forest Alliance.

The Division of Forestry is tasked with maintaining Indiana's state forests for multiple uses, including recreation, ecology and forest health, part of which includes logging.

John Seifert, state forester and director of the Division of Forestry, declined to comment on the sale, specifically, but said that the DNR uses a number of scientifically approved methods to manage Indiana's forests.

"We have to look at this as an ecosystem," Seifert told IndyStar. "We have to use the best science, and that's what we're doing."

Several concerns were raised at the protest, including the scarcity of old growth forests in the state, the endangered or threatened species that reside in this section of forest, and the issue of who, exactly, benefits from the sale.

Following the sale, the timber buyers in attendance quickly left the area and were not available for comment. Attempts to reach Hamilton Logging, Inc. after the sale were not returned.

Leslie Bishop, a retired biologist and Brown County resident, was in attendance. Last week, she delivered a letter signed by 228 scientists from across Indiana pleading with Gov. Eric Holcomb to intervene in the timber sale.

"They just sold these trees at $68 a tree," Bishop said. "I mean that is not a profit."

IndyStar confirmed that number based on the bid and the timber sale notice.

"I'm still hopeful. Holcomb could stop this right now, and all he has to do is make a phone call," she continued. "I want to know where is he right now? The people have spoken, scientists have spoken, there's so many reasons why this matters."

Bishop's letter piggybacked dozens of phone calls and public comments submitted to both the governor's office and DNR. Still, Gov. Holcomb, via a spokesperson, reiterated his support for DNR and its management plans to IndyStar on Thursday

Several Indiana timber buyers had told the IndyStar that they did not plan to bid on the sale because of the opposition to and controversy around the logging of Yellowwood. While they believed the timber to be logged would bring in "significant monetary value," they said it would not be worth it.

How significant? Based on the timber sale notice, the winning bid works out to about 24 cents per board foot. According to a recent DNR analysis of timber prices, some species set to be logged could fetch as much as a dollar per board foot on the market.

This sale will be the first time this particular section of the forest has been logged since the area was designated as "back country" in 1981. The area is meant to offer visitors a forest experience “much the same as it may have appeared a century and a half ago,” according to a DNR article from that same year.

As part of that designation, department officials have said, single selection cutting is allowed.

The Yellowwood backcountry area is just a few decades away from looking like an old growth forest, according to David Leblanc, a professor of biology at Ball State University who specializes in forest ecology and who signed the letter. This is a stage that is characterized by a mix of tree ages, large fallen trees and some old, wide trees — unique features that develop generally without significant disturbance.

Also among the main concerns are closures to the Tecumseh and Low Gap trails that run through these parts of Yellowwood, especially for nearby tourism officials. The Tecumseh, for example, has been closed or rerouted several times due to logging in recent years.

"As one of Indiana's most forested areas, we value the natural beauty that surrounds us, as well as understand the importance it has upon our local economy," wrote Jane Ellis, executive director of the Brown County Convention and Visitors Bureau in an October letter to Holcomb.

She said that millions of people visit the county every year to explore and enjoy its state forests and natural resources. However, her agency has started to hear some negative feedback from visitors to the Yellowwood State Forest.

"Not only is this [logging] hindering interest and visitation to Yellowwood," she wrote in the letter, "but if it continues, it could possibly negatively impact Brown County's notoriety as a premier outdoor destination, as well as revenue generated by tourism."

After the close of the sale, many of the protesters dispersed, with a plan to meet at a home nearby and discuss future actions. Although many hoped to stop the timber sale altogether, they said they remain hopeful that they might still be able to prevent the actual harvesting.

Hamilton Logging has 14 days before it is required to pay a percentage of its bid, and the Forest Alliance said it will encourage the company to back out of the contract and accept Barlet's offer. The group and others in opposition also plan to continue pressuring the governor to consider the people of Indiana and their calls to protect the forest.

It is unclear when logging could begin on Yellowwood should the contract hold, but the logging season runs into the beginning of next year.

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Emily Hopkins and Sarah Bowman cover the environment for IndyStar. Contact her at (317) 444-6409 or emily.hopkins@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter: @_thetextfiles. Call IndyStar reporter Sarah Bowman at (317) 444-6129. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook: @IndyStarSarah.

IndyStar's environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.

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