Forests for Indy Interactive Map
Urban forests make our cities better places. They provide habitat for wildlife and recreation opportunities for residents. Spending time in forested areas has been found to reduce stress and improve mental and physical health. Urban forests also make our cities better places to live by reducing high urban temperatures, improving water quality, and reducing flooding.
Even though these forests are incredibly important to urban wellbeing, they are often under threat from development. In the 1800s, before Indianapolis was established, nearly the entire city was forested. But the development of the city has resulted in the majority of these forests being cleared. These losses to development continue. For example, in 2019 Haverstick Woods on Indy's north side was cleared to make way for retail.
The Indiana Forest Alliance has championed protecting forest patches in Indianapolis. They staunchly opposed the development of Haverstick Woods and successfully defended an old growth forest patch in the Crown Hill Cemetery. In 2018, they launched a new project: Forests for Indy. This project aims to proactively identify and prioritize forests that need protection.
To do this, we first identified all forest patches in the city that were over one acre. We found that there were over 4,000 patches in the city!
Next, we identified which forest patches were the most critical to protect first. We worked with planners, ecologists, and social scientists to identify which attributes would best model the ecological, environmental, and social benefits that forests provide. We only focused on forest patches that are not publicly owned.
This story map will describe the data and methods used by Forests for Indy to identify forests that need protection most urgently.
Ecological benefits
Forests are hotspots for wildlife and are particularly important refugia in urban areas. However, some forests are better at providing habitat than others. We used variables that are correlated with ecosystem quality to identify the most important ecological forests.
Along with patch size and remnant status, we included patch connectivity and canopy volume to model ecological importance. In this map, segments with higher priority numbers are more important.
Many of the highest ranking forest patches in the ecological realm are on the northeast side of the city, around Fort Harrison. This area has lots of large, mature, remnant forests.
Environmental benefits
Forests provide a number of environmental services that have significant economic impact. Forests that are near waterways or in areas with high temperatures are especially important.
Urban forests can have a huge impact on water quality and reducing stormwater runoff. Tree canopies intercept rainwater, and slow it before it hits the ground. Tree roots increase soil's ability to hold water and remove water from soil as they grow.
For these reasons, we prioritized forests that had streams or lakes nearby, and woodlands that were within the watersheds of river heads.
The majority of the city's headwaters are on the southeast side.
Cities tend to be warmer than rural areas because built surfaces absorb the sun's energy and release it as heat. Trees can mitigate this through direct shading and transpiration. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, surfaces in shade can be up to 45°F cooler than those in full sun. Additionally, air temperatures can be 6°F cooler within a half mile of a forest.
Social factors
Forests are important to people too. Urban trees have been found to improve residents physical and mental health. They trap air pollution and reduce asthma rates. Taking a walk in a forest has been found to reduce stress and improve concentration. People who live near trees tend to have better cardio-vascular health.
Under-resourced and minority communities often have less access to forested areas, but are often particularly in need of the services that they provide.
Recognizing that, our project aims to prioritize forests that have an oversized impact in those communities.
Under-resourced communities have a greater need for the environmental and medical benefits that forests provide. We wanted to prioritize forests that were accessible to these communities.
We used the Center for Disease Control's Social Vulnerability Index to identify these neighborhoods. In this model they identify neighborhoods that have high population density, multi-family homes, and low access to transportation.
Young people are more vulnerable to air pollution and are more likely to develop asthma when exposed to it. Also, students tend to perform better academically when they have access (or even a view of) green space during the school day.
We prioritized forest patches that were near schools to emphasize the needs for these benefits.
Some of the highest priority forests with regard to social variables are located in Crooked Creek Neighborhood on the city's northwest side. This area has a high minority population, dense housing, and a couple of large schools.
Priority forests
This section will provide a virtual tour of some of the hardest-working forests.
Please be patient, the background map is very large and will take a moment to load.
Crown Hill North Woods
Description
White River Bluffs
Photo by Jeff Stant.
The Central Indiana Land Trust is working to save more of the forested bluffs in the city’s northside along the White River like this one purchased last year by CILTI from the Highland Country Club.
Fishback Creek
Photo by Jeff Stant.
Some of the best wildlife habitat in Marion County lies along Fishback Creek, north of Eagle Creek Reservoir.
Eagle Creek
Photo by Jeff Stant.
South of the Eagle Creek Reservoir Dam lies more than 100 acres of high quality forest on both sides of Eagle Creek.
Camp Dellwood
Photo by Jeff Stant. The Girl Scouts have preserved a beautiful forest with many large trees like this sycamore on the city’s west side at Camp Dellwood.
White Lick Creek
Photo by Jeff Stant.
City-County Councillor Jared Evans (right) and Leonard Stringer, of the White Lick Creek and Vandalia Trail Alliance (left), are working to establish the White Lick Creek Greenway Trail through 15 miles of continuous creekside forest on the city's far west side.
White River
Photo by Griffin Bruns.
A large concentration of forests produces the highest ecosystem services along the White River on the city’s southwestern quadrant.
Little Buck Creek
Photo by Jeff Stant.
The Indy Greenways Full Circle Master Plan identifies 18 miles of largely forested corridor along Little Buck Creek as a greenway to preserve.
East side Remnant
Photo by Don Miller.
Near Post Road on Indy’s east side, about 50 of this forest’s 71 acres were full-canopied in 1941 aerial photographs, making this a “remnant” of the old growth flatwood forest that once covered central Indiana but are now very rare.
Buck Creek
Photo by Jeff Stant.
High quality forest extends for nearly 15 miles along Buck Creek connecting Southeastway Park to Paul Ruster Park on the city’s southeast side, also identified as a priority greenway in the Indy Greenways Full Circle Master Plan.
Buck Creek Trail
Photo by Jeff Stant.
Mature forest north of Paul Ruster Park along Buck Creek near Cumberland.
Lick Creek
Photo by Jeff Stant.
South of Irvington, considerable forest stretches for five miles southeast to Beech Grove in an area of Marion County with little park acreage.
A nearly unbroken corridor of rich forest stretches for five miles along Mud Creek from Fort Ben State Park to the Hamilton County line. The Mud Creek Conservancy is championing its protection.
Oliver Woods
Photo by Elizabeth Mahoney.
Just east of Oliver Woods along the White River, bald eagles are raising young in this sycamore.
Williams Creek
Photo by Griffin Bruns.
Forest extends along Williams Creek from Marott Park to the Hamilton County line. Immediately north of the Park, Williams Creek forests on the grounds of the State School for the Blind will soon be for sale.
Haverstick Woods
13 acres now lost.
