The US Forest Service recently released an updated proposal for their Houston South Vegetation Management and Restoration Project near Bloomington, Ind. This project would allow significant burning and logging in areas of the Hoosier National Forest very close to Lake Monroe and its watershed – which provides drinking water to over 120,000 people.
This plan was previously halted by the courts for its failure to account for the negative environmental impact it would have, especially related to water quality in the area.
However, the USFS updated Supplemental Environmental Assessment plan does little to nothing to address the ecological concerns and will lead to significant destruction of the natural area and will degrade the water quality in Lake Monroe.
We need your help sending comments to the USFS to OPPOSE THE HOUSTON SOUTH PROJECT.
Click on the link below to view the USFS documents related to the project and learn how to submit your comments: https://www.fs.usda.gov/
On the lower left side you’ll see a window with multiple documents, including one titled “Legal Notice – Opportunity To Comment”
The comments do not have to be long or written like an academic paper. What is important is that they are unique, tell how the project will affect your usage of the forest and show that you do not support this project. You can include a short sentence or two in opposition, you can tell a story about why this area is important to you, or anything else you want that is relevant to your opposition to this proposed project.
Further guidance for writing your comments can be found here: https://drive.google.com/
This fate of this project may once again be decided by the courts, so it is imperative that we have strong public input to make our case against this project. Please submit your comments today! The deadline is NOV. 20.
