Environmental groups file third lawsuit opposing Hoosier National Forest project

By Carol Kugler
The Herald-Times
September 20, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

For the third time, a lawsuit has been filed against the U.S. Forest Service in an attempt to stop a management project planned for a portion of the Hoosier National Forest. The Monroe County Board of Commissioners, Indiana Forest Alliance, Hoosier Environmental Council and Friends of Lake Monroe filed the suit on Sept. 11 in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Indiana. The suit lists three defendants: the U.S. Forest Service; Michael Chaveas, forest supervisor; and Christopher Thornton, district ranger. It’s the latest in a years-long string of court actions attempting to stop the plan — known as the Houston South Vegetation Management and Restoration Project — that would include logging trees, controlled burns and spraying pesticides over about a decade on portions of 13,500 acres. …The plaintiffs state implementing the plan would adversely affect the water quality of Lake Monroe, which provides drinking water for more than 145,000 people.

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