Judge blocks Shawnee National Forest logging after Endangered Species Act violation

In a 27-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Nancy Rosenstengel ordered the U.S. Forest Service to suspend a commercial timber harvest in the Shawnee National Forest after finding the agency’s October 2024 approval breached the Endangered Species Act. The Forest Service had acted before receiving the final biological opinion from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which later confirmed the 70-acre project area hosts the federally protected Indiana bat and recommended against logging from April to October.

Environmental groups sued, contending the agency’s internal assessment showed likely adverse effects on the bats and that the decision memo falsely claimed no endangered species were present. Although the Forest Service argued no resources were committed until 2025 and that mitigation measures were in place, the judge rejected the notion that an agency could sidestep judicial review by promising to reconsider later. A temporary restraining order halted work after the contractor had thinned 40 of 67 acres; the order was lifted within two weeks, but the contractor has not resumed activity. The decision arrives amid the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back protections, including a rule narrowing the definition of “harm” under the Endangered Species Act and a proposal to ease road construction restrictions on federal lands.