Illinois Forest Action Plan

With the significant demands and challenges ahead for Illinois forests, the Illinois Forest Action Plan identified current forest resources across Illinois, trends and threats, as well as priorities, opportunities, and strategies for the future of Illinois forests.

Seven key threats to Illinois forest lands and resources are described in the Illinois Forest Action Plan and outlined below. The IDNR is focusing their attention and resources to tackle the following threats over the next decade.

In the greater Central Hardwood Region, gradual decline of oak species in the overstory has been underway for several decades. Through changes in regional disturbance regimes, late-successional, shade-tolerant species such as American beech (Fagus grandifolia) and sugar maple (Acer saccharum) are outcompeting more desirable, shade-intolerant genera such as oak and hickory, leading to concerns regarding the future composition and structure of forests throughout the region.

Oaks in our forests are affected by both ongoing biological processes and by human or livestock practices initiated by landowners, resource managers, and government decisions. Reductions in the frequency of beneficial disturbances, such as timber management and prescribed fire, have added to the suppression of oak seedlings and increased the frequency of nonoak seedlings and saplings.

The transition from oak-hickory forests to late-successional forest types will herald many ecological changes including, potentially, less ability of our forests to withstand drought condition and shifts in the oak-associated fauna, including a potential deline in many important game species such as white-tailed deer and eastern wild turkeys.

"Some of the harmful consequences of fragmentation are a loss of biodiversity, increased populations of invasive and nonnative species, and changes in biotic and abiotic conditions" (Hayes 2003)

Fragmentation is the breaking up of large habitat or forest cover areas into smaller parcels.

Like many areas, Illinois forests are increasing fragmented. This is primarily due to parcelization, where the number of nonindustrial private forest landowners in the United States has been increasing while the average size of parcels has been decreasing. In Illinois, the median privately owned forest patch is 25 acres and 33% own between 10 - 19 acres.

Concerning for many wildlife species and overall forest health, fewer than 50 blocks over 500 acres exist across Illinois. Below is a map of contiguous forest blocks at least 500 acres. You will see that the majority of these blocks exist in the southern part of the state with very few remnant, large blocks exist. Please take a minute to zoom in and pan around Ilinois - how many blocks exist in your county?

Multiple insect pests, disease, invasive plant species, and abiotic issues are affecting Illinois forest health. Additionally, biotic and abiotic factors may interact to negatively impact forests in ways that are difficult to predict; and these effects can be relative to landscape-level conditions and use patterns.

Invasive Plants

Invasive plant species are a widespread concern because their presence can alter natural plant communities and processes, threaten biodiversity, and contribute to decreases in sustainability, productivity, and wildlife habitat. Below are the primary, aggressive invasive species across much of Illinois - learn more about the invasive species threats to our state by visiting the  IDNR - Illinois Invasive Species Council  website.

Forest product producers and manufacturing firms comprise a small but important part of Illinois' economy, espeically in rural areas of the state. A 2012 economic impact study showed forestry and forest products in Illinois represent a $23 billion dollar annual market.

Unforunately, the number of production sawmills in Illinois has decreased by 72% since 1961. For example, as of 2005 there are 150 working sawmills, but just 75 active mills in 2013 - a 50% decrease!

Map of Illinois Sawmills

Many of the sawmills in Illinois have closed, with a concentration in the south-central portion of the state. Below is a map showing the sawmills across Illinois, with colors indicating their Status (open/closed; see legend below in caption).

Illinois is also home to custom woodworkers with smaller mills that are inventoried differently than the production sawmills above. Below is an interactive directory of Illinois custom sawmills and workers published by the  University of Illinois Extension .

A fact that exemplifies the need for more Illinois forest industries is that during the closing and idling of half of the Illinois mills in the last decade, the amount of timber harvested from Illinois forests has remained constant and at the date of this publication is increasing. Currently, almost one-third of the industrial round-wood harveste in Illinois is sent to other states for processing, providing much less benefit to the Illinois economy.

Collectively, the mills offer Illinois woodland owners an outlet to sell timber and provide jobs in some of our state’s rural areas. The demand for wood products is likely to increase, placing a greater demand on the state’s forest resource. An important consideration for the economy of Illinois is that Illinois’ primary wood-product markets, industries, and mills retain and expand their ability to process the industrial logs and round-wood harvested, leading to value-added production within this state.

The lack of permanent forestry funding remains one of the most significant threat to Illinois forests

Illinois has failed to generate or legislate permanent funding for forest and natural resources conservation and remains in great need of doing so. Forests are critical to the environment, quality of life, and the state and national economy. A specific legislative or voterbacked funding mechanism is needed to guarantee the critical funding required by the state forestry division within the IDNR to support the protection and sustainable management of all forests within Illinois.

Permanent funding for forestry could dramatically increase the output of rich, functioning wildlife habitat, the distribution of forest products into the economy, the preservation of clean water and soil resources, the availability of recreational opportunities, as well as all other services and benefits forestry provides to the citizens of Illinois and beyond.

Global climate change and the degradation of forest health and resiliency is an important concern for Illinois. Illinois should prepare for climate change and become involved with other natural resource agencies within the region to collaborate and share in the planning and preparation for climate change impacts. A key resource for this planning is the  Central Hardwoods Ecosystem Vulnerability Assessment and Synthesis  report by the Central Hardwoods Climate Change Response Framework Project .

The Illinois Forest Action Plan outlines a number of strategies for moving forward over the next decade towards healthier and more resilent forests across our state. Below we describe several of the key strategies to meet the demands and challenges for Illinois forests.

The Illinois Forest Action Plan is an important document bringing much needed attention to the forests of our state. Importantly, it details the effort that IDNR has put towards maintaining and expanding forest cover across the state. To learn more, you can read the complete  Illinois Forest Action Plan .

To learn more about other efforts in the state, please visit the  IDNR Forestry website , the  Illinois Forestry Development Council , the  University of Illinois Forestry Extension , or the  Illinois Forestry Association .

For more information, contact Tom Gargrave, Regional Forester for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, at tom.gargrave@illinois.gov.