Hardwood Logging Project in Illinois National Forest Draws Suit

A commercial logging project in Shawnee National Forest will harm a nearby waterway and negatively impact two at-risk species of bats, environmental groups said in a lawsuit against the US Forest Service.

Friends of Bell Smith Springs and the Regional Association of Concerned Environmentalists said the agency failed to adequately consider or disclose to the public the project’s environmental impacts before authorizing it, in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act and the Administrative Procedure Act.

The suit, filed Tuesday in the US District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, is one of numerous lawsuits against environmental agencies over claims that various logging projects across the country—including in Oregon, California, and Utah—pose a threat to wildlife and habitat.

The US Forest Service released a decision memo in 2024 authorizing logging in 70 acres of land in Shawnee National Forest, the complaint said. The plan was made to create gaps in the canopy and provide increased growing space for the remaining oak trees, but it’s based on “outdated science,” the groups claim.

The suit alleges the 2024 memo failed to consider the presence of the Indiana and tri-colored bat populations that reside in the project area and would face adverse affects due to the logging projects. The Indiana bat is endangered, and the tri-colored bat has been proposed for Endangered Species Act protection.

Additionally the suit alleged the project would negatively affect the Bell Smith Springs National Natural Landmark because the project area is above the Hunting Branch Spring which deposits into the Bell Smith Springs. The suit says the project creates the risk of sedimentary debris traveling down the eroded slopes which would deposit into the national landmark.

Citing NEPA, the conservation groups alleged the Forest Service failed to take a “hard look” at the environmental consequences of their actions and fully disclose the project’s impact on species and sensitive lands.

The lawsuit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief to pause the logging project.

The plaintiffs are represented by Earthrise Law Center, the environmental legal clinic at Lewis & Clark Law School.

The case is Friends of Bell Smith Springs v. U.S Forest Serv., S.D. Ill., No. 3:25-cv-01377, complaint filed 7/15/25.