Hoosier Forest Logging Project Stalled Amid Watershed Concerns

The US Forest Service inadequately studied how a Hoosier National Forest logging plan could impact a drinking water source, a federal judge ruled in blocking the project.

The agency’s secondary environmental analysis failed to include site-specific analysis on the highly erodible soils around Lake Monroe and relied on generalized “best management practices” for mitigation measures, the US District Court for the Southern District of Indiana ruled.

Judge Tanya W. Pratt granted summary judgment to the Monroe County Board of Commissioners and local environmental groups in an order entered Sept. 19, finding the Forest Service violated the National Environmental Policy Act ...