Federal Judge Halts Shawnee National Forest Logging Project Over Endangered Species Concerns
A federal judge has halted a logging project in Illinois’ Shawnee National Forest, ruling the Forest Service violated the Endangered Species Act during approval.
•The roughly 70-acre logging project was supposed to be a forest management project, but environmental groups said the approval process was flawed because the Forest Service didn’t consider enough whether the federally protected Indiana bat was present in the area.
•The court said the agency approved the project before it had received a final opinion from the US Fish and Wildlife Service. A later review identified the area as habitat for Indiana bats and recommended additional protections during certain times when the species may be vulnerable.
By Elena Rodriguez·Sep 3, 2026
