As part of the Buffalo Springs Restoration Project, the forest service wants to cut down trees, do prescribed fires and use some herbicides on thousands of acres near Patoka Lake.

The $10 per night fee would be used for small improvements and maintenance at some of the forests’ campgrounds -- like new picnic tables, fire rings, and more defined campsites and parking.

Environmental groups and officials in a southern Indiana county are suing the U.S. Forest Service over its plan to burn or harvest parts of the Hoosier National Forest, alleging that it could taint drinking water for more than 140,000 people.

A Hoosier National Forest official says the illegal use of off-road vehicles at the sprawling federal forest in southern Indiana is leaving behind deep tire grooves that are causing problematic erosion.

The property is near the Hardin Ridge Recreation Area that's operated by the U.S. Forest Service.

The forest says the sites include historic Native American villages, forts, and trading posts that have disappeared from the landscape and river crossings where the buffalo forded rivers.