Today, on behalf of the Monroe County Board of Commissioners, Indiana Forest Alliance, Hoosier Environmental Council, and Friends of Lake Monroe, our firm obtained a preliminary injunction from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. The court’s order — found here — halts the U.S. Forest Service from commencing prescribed burns, herbicide application, and logging across nearly 15,000 acres of the Hoosier National Forest over the next two decades. The court found that our clients are likely to prevail on their claims that the Forest Service failed to adhere to the National Environmental Policy Act before approving this massive project, and it also affirmed that our clients were likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of injunctive relief. The court order will prevent significant, permanent harm to both Lake Monroe (which provides drinking water to nearly 150,000 Indiana residents) and to the public lands, wildlife, and recreational users of Indiana’s only national forest.

Photo courtesy of the Indiana Forest Alliance (https://indianaforestalliance.org/2018/05/04/what-you-can-do-to-fight-a-major-new-attack-on-the-hoosier-national-forest/)