Judge orders temporary stop to US Forest Service logging project in Hoosier National Forest

A federal judge for Indiana’s southern district has ordered the U. S. Forest service to temporarily halt its logging project in the Hoosier National Forest.

The Houston South Vegetation Management and Restoration Project involves clearcutting 401 acres, logging on about 4,000 acres, use of herbicide on 2,000 acres, prescribed burning on 13,500 acres, and several miles of road construction, according to court documents.

Chief Judge Tanya Pratt ruled last week that the Forest Service, which owns about 20 percent of the Hoosier National Forest, failed to explain the potential effects of its plans on the surrounding area. The Hoosier National Forest spans 200,000 acres across nine counties in south central Indiana.

The Service said in an August 2024 assessment that because it planned to use “Best Management Practices,” that any potential effects on soil erosion or Lake Monroe’s water quality would be mitigated.

But the Court reviewed studies that the Forest Service cited for its plans and found them either outdated or irrelevant to the project. One of the studies cited was 30 years old and another used a metric which “carries little to no weight” for measuring the impacts of logging in Jackson and Lawrence counties.

Pratt’s ruling says the Service’s assessment offers “only generalized assurances” that its efforts to mitigate harm will be effective, but no analysis or reason for this conclusion. And “platitudes are not enough to satisfy (the National Environmental Policy and Administrative Procedure Acts).”

The law doesn’t require that an agency prevent harm or mitigate its impact. But it needs to take a “hard look” to measure the effects of its plans.

The ruling says, “The project should not move forward until that determination is made.”

The ruling sides with Monroe County Board of Commissioners, Indiana Forest Alliance, Hoosier Environmental Council, and Friends of Lake Monroe. It’s the third suit trying to halt the logging plan since 2020.

The court did not ask for an environmental impact statement, as requested by the plaintiffs, because the Forest Service first has to provide initial findings about the effects of its project.

The court ruling says the Forest Service will meet with a judge for plans on an “appropriate remedy” and timeline.