Environmentalists Rally in Bedford Against Hoosier National Forest Logging Plan

BEDFORD, Ind. — May 15, 2025 — Around three dozen environmental advocates gathered outside the U.S. Forest Service office in Bedford Thursday morning to protest the Buffalo Springs Restoration Project, a forest management plan they say threatens the health of the Hoosier National Forest and surrounding communities.

The demonstration, organized by Protect Our Woods and the Indiana Forest Alliance, featured live music, local speakers, and even a visit from a towering buffalo sculpture named Tatanka — a nod to the wild bison that once roamed southern Indiana. Organizers say the rally was intended to remind officials that public forests belong to the people, not government agencies or logging interests.

Barbara Lantz, a Bloomington-based water activist, directly appealed to President Donald Trump to support alternative housing materials, including recycled trash, instead of relying on timber from public lands. Lantz said a company in Richmond, Indiana is making the building materials from recycled plastic. “This is an outdated business model,” Lantz said about logging forests for lumber. “It will make, you, President Trump, more money!” Stop the logging, and start making alternative wood products that are far better than wood, Lantz implored.

Despite calls for engagement, the U.S. Forest Service says the Buffalo Springs project is not new and is part of a broader, decades-old management strategy. Details of the plan are available on the Forest Service website.

According to the Forest Service, the Buffalo Springs project aims to restore oak-hickory ecosystems and native hardwoods by removing non-native pine trees and promoting forest health. Proposed actions include thinning, selection harvests, prescribed burns, and herbicide applications across thousands of acres primarily in Orange and Crawford counties. Project details are posted online.

But opponents say those treatments will destroy wildlife habitat, harm drinking water sources, and undercut Indiana’s growing eco-tourism economy.

“We have been fighting this battle since 2020, when a bunch of us in Orange County received notice that thousands of acres of land near our homes were going to be burned and logged in the coming years. We’re talking about beautiful horseback riding trails, caves that have yet to be explored, and an astonishing diversity of species that will be greatly disturbed if the US Forest Service follows through with their current plans,” said Steven Stewart, whose family homestead borders the Hoosier, and now serves as head of the Save Hoosier National Forest campaign at Protect our Woods, a nonpartisan environmental organization aimed at protecting forest and preserving as much wilderness as possible and our cultural heritage for future generations.

Jeff Stant, former executive director of the Indiana Forest Alliance, called the plan shortsighted. He pointed to the booming $224 billion eco-tourism industry and urged elected officials to invest in sustainable economic alternatives rather than logging.

“Make it easier for entrepreneurs to start eco-tourism businesses,” Stant said. “Stop destroying one of the most valuable and special places in the world.”

Andy Mahler, a veteran forest preservationist and co-founder of Protect Our Woods, urged the Forest Service to listen to public feedback. “The people of Indiana are making it unmistakably clear to the Forest Service that they do not want their only National Forest cut down. We want our publicly owned Hoosier National Forest protected and the trees left standing for water, wildlife, recreation, and innumerable other public benefits only available from publicly owned land, including making nearby communities desirable places to live, work, retire, or visit.”

Mahler, recently named Grassroots Activist of the Year by the Fund for Wild Nature, said the Buffalo Springs project is just the latest chapter in a decades-long battle. He played a central role in a successful 1980s campaign that halted off-road vehicle trails and mass clear-cutting in the forest.

Rally organizers say their mission is about more than trees. “This is about cultural heritage, clean drinking water, biodiversity, and making southern Indiana a place people want to live and visit,” said Stewart.

Thursday’s rally included remarks from Crawford County Commissioner Dan Crecelius, activists, and music to rally support for a forest many say is irreplaceable.

For more information, visit SaveHoosierNationalForest.com or follow Protect Our Woods on Facebook.

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This news article is based on materials provided to The Bloomingtonian by rally organizers and statements from the U.S. Forest Service.

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