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A recent letter penned by Indiana Gov. Mike Braun urged federal officials to “immediately withdraw” a controversial plan to log and burn nearly 20,000 acres of The Hoosier National Forest.
The Buffalo Springs Restoration Project, proposed by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), seeks to log 5,000 acres and burn 15,500 acres of the national forest land in southern Indiana.
Although USFS originally estimated a decision on the project would come in January — and that work could begin early this year — a final determination is still pending.
When proposed in 2021, it was pitched as a way to improve sustainability of the forest’s oak-wood ecosystem. The removal of non-native pine trees would also regenerate native hardwood communities and “improve overall forest health and wildlife habitat,” according to the federal agency.
But in a letter sent last week to USFS Chief Randy Moore, Braun pointed to increasing pushback from Indiana residents, and said the project could threaten the drinking water for more than 100,000 Hoosiers.
The Republican governor also raised issue with logging and burning around Patoka Lake — Indiana’s second largest reservoir — located adjacent to the forest.
“The Project area is treasured by Hoosiers and recreationists alike,” Braun wrote. “Its forests are a favorite destination for horseback riders, hikers, mushroom foragers, hunters and campers. Many Hoosiers have voiced concerns that these resources and their enjoyment of the area will be harmed by the Project.”
The area impacted includes Tucker Lake, Springs Valley, Youngs Creek and Lick Creek Trails, Braun noted. He specifically referenced commissioners in Crawford and Orange counties, as well as the Paoli Town Council, which have “unanimously passed resolutions opposing the project.”
“Since assuming office, the Trump Administration has demonstrated a seriousness about re-evaluating decisions of its predecessors in order to achieve optimal results for the American people,” Braun said in his letter. “With this in mind, I write to ask the United States Forest Service (USFS) to immediately withdraw the Buffalo Springs Restoration Project in the Hoosier National Forest.”
The Indiana Forest Alliance (IFA) has separately described the proposal as the “largest and most destructive project” in the history of the Hoosier National Forest.
The environmental advocacy nonprofit called Braun’s letter “a bold move,” and applauded the governor for “his commitment to public participation in decisions about our public lands.”
“As significant changes come to our world, more and more people are turning to protected public land — our parks and forests — as a place to find peace of mind and explore a variety of nature-based pursuits and pastimes from kayaking, camping, and swimming, to hunting, hiking, horseback riding, foraging for wild edibles and bird-watching,” former Indiana Forest Alliance Executive Director Jeff Stant said in a joint statement with environmental activist Andy Mahler, who has long opposed the project.
“We believe our publicly owned forests are far more valuable for their biodiversity, recreational opportunities, heritage and history, as well as their role in providing clean air and water, absorbing carbon, and moderating weather extremes, than they are for commercial extraction,” the statement continued. “Protected public forests are economic drivers for the well-being of surrounding communities and for safe-guarding the quality of life for residents and visitors alike. We welcome a new, protective management philosophy to guide future decision-making for the Hoosier National Forest.”
Project plans still pending
The Hoosier National Forest encompasses a total of 204,000 acres within Brown, Perry, Monroe, Orange, Crawford, Lawrence, Dubois, Martin and Jackson counties. It is Indiana’s only national forest.
The Buffalo Springs project would further a larger USFS initiative to revitalize oak-hickory ecosystems in the forest, which agency officials said are “important to keep … on the landscape as many wildlife species have evolved with it and depend on it.”
The project also aims to create greater age diversity between different tree species within the forest in order to “provide for diversity in wildlife species,” according to the USFS proposal.
Outlined are at least 5,124 acres of the Hoosier National Forest would be slated for harvest; nearly 15,100 acres identified for a possible prescribed burn; 771 acres of chemical treatment with herbicides and pesticides; and the creation or re-creation of 19 miles of road throughout the forestland.
Because the Hoosier National Forest hasn’t experienced “periodic disturbance” caused by fires or other destructive events, federal officials said aging oaks and hickories have struggled to regenerate naturally and are now struggling to compete with more shade-tolerant tree species.
They contend that “reintroducing fire would promote regeneration and maintenance of mast producing oak and hickory.”
It’s a critical move for the many wildlife species that depend on those trees, according to USFS.
The oak and hickory provide hard mast acorns and nuts that are staple foods for many forest dwellers. They’re also preferred trees for the endangered Indiana bat to roost and nest. Oaks further provide the ecosystem with caterpillars — which sustain the food web.
Of concern in the project area, too, is controlling oak wilt, a tree disease caused by a fungus.
Forest staff have reported pockets of oak wilt in the project area that are already killing red oak. Once a tree has been infected, “there is nothing that can be done other than remove it to prevent the disease from spreading to nearby healthy oak trees,” officials said. As such, the proposal would remove infected oak trees.
USFS planning documents additionally urge for the removal of non-native pines that were planted in the forest between the 1930s and mid-1980s to help with erosion control.
As pine trees mature, their canopies grow closer together and reduce the amount of sunlight reaching the forest floor. That has caused a near or total reduction in necessary plant growth beneath the trees.
By removing the pine plantations, federal officials said the amount of young forested habitat would increase, creating “important early successional habitat required by a wide variety of songbirds, as well as ruffed grouse and American woodcock,” among other benefits.
Hoosier advocates opposed, too
But several environmental advocacy groups — including IFA, the Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter, Protect Our Forest, Save Hoosier National Forest and the Hoosier Environmental Council — argue the project will do more harm than good.
They maintain the project overly simplifies the Hoosier National Forest ecosystem, and allege that USFS has incentives to auction off felled trees.
Statements and resolutions opposing the project have since been issued by the Orange and Crawford County Commissioners and the Paoli Town Council.
Key concerns in those communities have centered around the potential negative effects on the quality of local watersheds, damage to the area’s historic buffalo trace and other cultural areas, harm to animal specials, and the destruction of horse trails.
Braun organized an April 2024 meeting in Paoli for local residents to express their concerns about the project. In attendance was Homer Wilkes, undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, who oversaw the Forest Service at that time. At that time Braun was a U.S. Senator.
During that and other community meetings, locals proposed alternative plans with a more hands-off approach. They pointed to less intensive forest management practices, including a reduction to planned logging, smaller prescribed burn areas, and prioritization of existing trail maintenance instead of new road construction. Others, though, have advocated for a complete “no action” alternative to “completely preserve” the current state of the forest.
Despite the outcry, former President Joe Biden’s administration kept fundamental aspects of the project intact.
Braun’s office emphasized in a news release that President Donald Trump’s administration could be more willing to “re-evaluate previous decisions to ensure they serve the American people effectively.”
Braun’s stance on conservation
The governor has taken up conservation issues before and described himself in his letter as an “avid outdoorsman.”
In October 2023, Braun — then a U.S. senator — introduced a bill in Congress to more than double the size of the Charles C. Deam Wilderness southeast of Bloomington, which is owned by the Hoosier National Forest.
Concerns among some environmental and outdoor recreation advocates stymied the proposal, however.
Republican Indiana Congresswoman Erin Houchin reintroduced the bill in 2024, but that version also failed to advance from committee.
Earlier, as a state representative in the Indiana General Assembly, Braun drafted legislation to require the Indiana Department of Natural Resources to protect at least 10% of each state forest from logging and allow those areas to return to “old forest” conditions. The 2016 bill died in committee.
A nearly identical measure, House Bill 1447, was filed in the 2025 session but has not received a hearing.
The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, nonprofit news organization that covers state government, policy and elections.
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