The U.S. Forest Service approved a commercial logging sale in southern Illinois' Shawnee National Forest, using a categorical exclusion to limit public input and bypass full environmental reviews. Local environmentalists, led by activist Sam Stearns, sued the agency, alleging violations of federal law amid broader efforts by the Trump administration to accelerate timber harvests. A federal judge temporarily halted the project, but logging partially proceeded as the case remains pending.
In late 2024, the Forest Service greenlit the sale of nearly 70 acres of timber in the Shawnee National Forest, Illinois' sole national forest and one of the nation's smallest. Initially presented as the McCormick Oak-Hickory Restoration Project—a thinning effort to promote younger trees—the operation raised alarms over potential habitat loss for species like endangered bats and impacts to nearby natural landmarks.
Sam Stearns, a 71-year-old founder of the preservation group Friends of Bell Smith Spring, criticized the plan sharply. "Never in the history of this planet has a forest been logged back to health," he said. Stearns and fellow advocates searched for public comment opportunities but missed the three-week window because the project was advertised under the obscure name "V-Plow." Previously, such periods extended up to 45 days. No bids came in initially, but the contract went to a Kentucky buyer in June 2025.
The following month, Stearns and others filed a lawsuit against the Forest Service, claiming breaches of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which requires assessment of environmental effects. A federal judge issued a temporary block in early fall before permitting logging to resume; the suit continues, with the agency declining comment due to litigation.
This dispute reflects wider tensions under President Donald Trump's directives to expedite timber production on public lands. An executive order urged the Forest Service to apply "categorical exclusions"—NEPA shortcuts for low-impact activities—to more projects, including adopting exclusions from other agencies like those for wastewater or transmission lines, and creating new ones for wildfire-related thinning. Garrett Rose, a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, noted that while such exclusions suit minor tasks like trail maintenance, the administration has expanded them aggressively, reducing transparency.
Similar tactics appear elsewhere: the Forest Service invoked Tennessee Valley Authority exclusions for logging in Oregon's Mount Hood and Alaska's Tongass national forests. Ryan Talbott of Wildearth Guardians linked these to Trump's timber order, saying agencies seek every avenue to speed production. In contrast, a September federal ruling halted a larger logging plan in Indiana's Hoosier National Forest for NEPA shortcomings.
By late August 2025, a Kentucky crew had harvested about half the Shawnee site before pausing in early September due to the lawsuit. As of late November, work remained unfinished. Observing the scarred hillsides, Stearns remarked, "Even if they were getting a premium price for this wood, which I know they’re not, those trees would be much more valuable standing, contributing to the health of an ecosystem, than they’ll ever be cut like that."
