Environmental groups remain opposed to Hoosier National Forest management project
The U.S. Forest Service is moving forward with a controversial project in the Hoosier National Forest despite concerns that logging and controlled burns over more than 15,000 acres could affect the water quality of Lake Monroe.
The project was temporarily halted in April after the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana ruled the forest service failed to “fully evaluate the environmental effects to Lake Monroe.”
Following that ruling, the service issued a new report and found no corrections or revisions to the initial environmental assessment were necessary.
Several environmental groups sent letters to the Service, but not all were in agreement. Of those letters, nine were in support and 15 remained opposed.
Mike Chaveas, forest supervisor for the Hoosier National Forest, said the agency doesn't tally the letters as a "vote," but rather uses best practices and the best available science to make management decisions.
In early December, the federal agency announced it plans to proceed with a vegetation management and restoration project in an area called Houston South, which is situated near the northwest corner of Jackson County. The project will include harvesting trees on about 4,300 acres and controlled burns conducted on another 13,500 acres. Both sites are near the south fork of Salt Creek.
The project will not be done all at once, and Chaveas said the scale is important. Less than 1% of the forest is undergoing management in any given year, and the Houston South project does not accelerate that, he said. The project will move gradually in small pieces and areas will recover as other areas undergo management.
Previously:Judge weighs in on largest logging, burn project ever proposed for Hoosier National Forest
Opponents say the new report does not address the concerns of environmental groups worried the logging and burning will affect Lake Monroe's water quality.
“We’re very upset about this,” said Jeff Stant, executive director of the Indiana Forest Alliance. “We don’t think they’ve complied. It’s gross noncompliance and they’ve flaunted the judge’s ruling.”
Proponents of the project include The Nature Conservancy of Indiana and the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation among others.
"Although all management actions have risks and compromises, we believe the proposed management at Houston South will be undertaken with sufficient best management practices necessary to limit negative impacts to water quality in Lake Monroe," Larry Clemens, director of The Nature Conservancy of Indiana, wrote in the letter of support. "A 'no action' alternative would incur some undeniable negative consequences."
Chris Thornton, district ranger for the Hoosier National Forest, wrote in a Dec. 5 letter to the district court that opposition concerns about the project were already addressed in the service’s original report and “no further information or clarification was needed.”
“We are issuing the (report) not because we concede that our initial analysis was lacking but to comply with the District Court order and move forward with implementation,” the forest service report says.
The overall goal of the project is to “increase the resiliency and structure of forested areas,” according to the report. Not conducting the management project could mean a decline in the oak-hickory ecosystems and a lack of diversity in the landscape.
Despite the forest service's insistence they've provided enough information, some environmental advocates say it's not enough.
Stant, with the Indiana Forest Alliance, said the proposed logging and controlled burns will cause nutrient pollution to flow into Lake Monroe. These nutrients, namely nitrogen and phosphorous, can cause harmful algal blooms to form in the lake, which is a drinking water source for about 120,000 people.
Lake Monroe, as acknowledged by the forest service in its new report, already suffers water quality issues due to excess nutrients from agriculture and septic practices. The service’s report also agrees that private forestry activities have compounded water quality issues in the reservoir when best management practices are not followed. The service's report says there will be sufficient erosion control practices put in place.
Sherry Mitchell-Bruker, president of Friends of Lake Monroe, a group working to protect the reservoir, wrote to Thornton to oppose the project. In the letter, she wrote that the project would increase nutrient pollution by removing vegetation around the lake that serves as a safeguard.
“The only way to genuinely ensure that there will be no significant impacts as a result of (Hoosier National Forest’s) decision is to leave the forest intact and forgo logging and burning in the Lake Monroe watershed,” she wrote.
More:Monroe County sues over Hoosier National Forest project they say threatens their drinking water
The service’s project includes protections the report contends will curb any adverse effects while logging and controlled burns are implemented. These protections include not logging within the local floodplain; following best management practices and forest plan guidance; and conducting soil and stream monitoring.
Thornton said the overall goal of the project is to allow for a diverse forest that protects and maintains wildlife ecosystems and will be resilient to the changing climate.
As the service plans to move forward with the project, Stant said environmental groups are still weighing options.
“The plaintiffs in this litigation have met and are in the process of deciding whether to take court action, which decision is coming up very shortly,” Stant wrote in an email to IndyStar.
Karl Schneider is an IndyStar environment reporter. You can reach him at karl.schneider@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @karlstartswithk
IndyStar's environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Hoosier National Forest management plan to go forward despite concerns
