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Walnut Trees and Forestry GAO to Release Wood Utilization Report Requested by Lugar On Thursday, June 22, 2006, the U.S. General Accountability
Office (GAO) released a Wood Utilization report requested by Sens. Dick
Lugar (R-IN) and Thad Cochran (R-MS) in July 2004. This report is a comprehensive
evaluation of the ability of the federal government to assist industry
with wood utilization and product development and the federal capability
to develop emerging technologies and transfer them into products and manufacturing
processes for wood and wood fiber in the United States.
Many years ago, Senator Lugar added another crop to his family farm and began a concerted effort to start planting hardwood trees on the 604 acre farm in Marion County, Indiana. Senator Lugar chose to farm black walnut trees and has since covered approximately one-third of his farm with the hardwoods. As his involvement increased, he learned how important the industry is to Indiana. The Indiana forest products industry employs over 59,000 people earning over $1.6 billion annually. It is the fifth largest manufacturing industry in the State. Timber harvested in Indiana ranges in value from $100 to $140 million dollars annually. This timber, together with hardwood timber imported from surrounding states and processed in Indiana, brings the total value of forest products shipments to approximately $4 billion annually.
On Arbor Day 2005, Senator Lugar planted a black walnut tree from his Indiana farm on the Northwest Capitol Grounds. Hoosier and national forestry leaders, as well as other Hoosiers in Washington, D.C., were in attendance for this Arbor Day dedication. Just in time for Arbor Day 2006, the newest black walnut on the U.S. Captiol Grounds is looking vibrant with its first growth of leaves. It is accompanied by a plaque. The plaque (enlarged above) reads: U.S. CAPITOL GROUNDS For additional information about hardwood tree farming, please visit these sites.
NOTICE: Any link to a commercial website found on this page is provided only as a courtesy and should not be considered in any way as an endorsement or promotion by Senator Lugar. In addition, Senator Lugar is not responsible for any offensive or objectionable content that may be found at any of the sites provided above.
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Since arriving in the Senate, Senator Lugar has had a seat on the Agriculture,
Nutrition and Forestry Committee. As a corn and soybean farmer, Senator
Lugar knows many of the issues that Hoosier farmers face.
Senator
Lugar won the Black Walnut Achievement Award in 2002 from the International
Walnut Council. He has also enjoyed advocating for the Hardwood Tree Improvement
and Regeneration Center at Purdue University. The Center will house both
Purdue and U.S. Forest Services researchers working on the improvement
and regeneration of hardwood trees in the Central Hardwoods Region of
the United States.
