Concert to raise funds for forests

Students have a rare opportunity to toast the trees Thursday night in lieu of their usual bar-hopping without a cause. Forest protection organizations like the Indiana Forest Alliance and Heartwood are coordinating the benefit to raise money and awareness regarding Indiana's forest issues, said Michael Forrester, a member of Heartwood and graduate student at IU's School of Public and Environmental Affairs. \nThe event will feature live music from local bands, dancing and possibly a raffle at Max's Place, 109 W. Seventh St., from 7:00 p.m. to midnight. All ages are welcome.\nThe local bands scheduled for tonight's Hoosier National Forest Benefit include The Two Pickers (bluegrass), Guitarface and Friends (eclectic) and The Boogaloos (blues), with the possibility of additional bands, according to a release. \nThose attending are asked to offer a monetary donation of any amount. The goal is to raise at least $500 at the event, Forrester said.\nHe said he thinks tonight's event will be successful. \n"The last Hoosier National Forest Benefit in February attracted over 100 people," he said. "With the help of Max's place, hopefully we'll build upon the success of the last [benefit]."\nDonations will be split between Heartwood and the Indiana Forest Alliance and will be used to help fund a lawsuit against the Indiana Department of National Resources and the Division of Forestry. The lawsuit is an attempt to encourage a new forest plan that ends the commercial extraction of trees on public land, Forrester said. \nMaking a donation will show support for the Indiana Forest Alliance's campaign to end commercial logging on Indiana state forests, he added. \nHeartwood is a regional network that started in Bloomington with the goal of protecting forests through community action. Heartwood began its mission in 1991, organizing efforts to protect state forests.\nThe Indiana Forest Alliance monitors the commercial timber sale program on Indiana's publicly owned state forests. \n"The point of [the Hoosier National Forest Benefit] is to raise awareness about the Hoosier National Forest and to really make people aware that this forest plan is out there and that it's going to affect the management of the forest for the next 10 to 15 years," Forrester said.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Kathryn Macdonald at kemacdon@indiana.edu.