Degree Name

Master of Science in Education (MSEd)

Semester of Degree Completion

1974

Thesis Director

Dalias Price

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation has been to organize and compile a relevant body of information concerning the forested land within Coles County. The methods employed in conducting this study consisted of library research, field work, interviews, and the use of a questionnaire. The questionnaire was designed to determine how the forest landowners were utilizing their forests. A random sample of the forest landowners of each township within Coles County was conducted. In addition to the questionnaire, which was the primary source of detailed information relating to forest utilization, there were interviews with the county farm cooperative extension agent, the district forester, and other parties. Information provided by these sources was organized by township thus providing an adequate base from which many of the maps and figures appearing in the study were constructed.

Finally, the author has organized and implemented a program of field work in which field reconnaisance and the photographs appearing in this paper were utilized to substantiate the date resulting from the questionnaire and the interviews. It is upon these methods that the following study is based.

Information has been categorized and presented to the reader in five chapters. The first chapter provides the introduction and framework for the succeeding chapters. Chapter II is a historical compendium of Coles County Forests. In Chapter III, the relationship of physical features to forests, such as climate, topography, and soils, are discussed. Chapters IV and V deal with ownership, the present forest distribution, utilization of the forests by the owner, and probable future trends.

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