09/01/2026
*** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - September 1, 2026 ***
Federal Judge Orders Forest Service to Set Aside
Bell Smith Springs Logging Project
Says Agency ‘violated the Endangered Species Act’
Simpson, IL – On August 31, 2026, Federal Judge Nancy Rosenstengel issued an order granting Plaintiffs Friends of Bell Smith Springs and Regional Association of Concerned Environmentalists (RACE) motion for summary judgement, setting aside Defendants U.S. Forest Service (FS) and District Ranger Dennis Wilson’s Decision Memo on the McCormick commercial logging project on the Shawnee National Forest located in southern Illinois.
The McCormick logging project is located near the Bell Smith Springs National Natural Landmark in Pope County. The project site is adjacent to Hunting Branch, a high-quality stream that flows directly into the Bell Smith Springs Canyon. Touted as an “oak-hickory restoration project” by the FS, Plaintiffs challenged these claims, pointing to the impacts from heavy logging machinery operating on highly erodible soils and steep slopes at the site. The project calls for commercial timber extraction on almost 70 acres. Approximately 40 acres at the site have already been logged. Ironically, the majority of the trees that have been logged and those that remain standing on site are mature oaks and hickories.
Forest Service staff also discovered that federally endangered Indiana bats have used the site and were likely to be adversely affected by the logging project. According to the Endangered Species Act (ESA), when such a determination is made by agency staff, the agency is required to consult with US Fish and Wildlife Service (USF&WS). Consultation involves USF&WS issuing a biological opinion (BiOp) on the endangered animals, in this case, Indiana bats. The ESA requires that the Forest Service consider the BiOp prior to making a final action on a project like this one. Defendant District Ranger Dennis Wilson, however, issued his final decision six weeks before F&WS issued their BiOp.
US District Judge Nancy J. Rosenstengel for the Southern District of Illinois disagreed with the FS contention that they had properly consulted with USF&WS regarding the rare bats.
“In sum, the (Endangered Species Act) requires agencies to complete their consultation obligations before taking final agency action,” wrote the Hon. Judge Rosenstegel. “Because the Forest Service did not do so, it violated the ESA.”
In her memorandum and order granting summary judgement for Plaintiffs, Judge Rosenstengel also vacated or “set aside” Defendant Dennis Wilson’s Decision Memo approving the logging project, as it was “otherwise not in accordance with law.”
"We are grateful that the judge took it upon herself to dig into environmental law and issue this ruling,” said Sam Stearns, founder and president of Friends of Bell Smith Springs. “She was clearly unpersuaded by Forest Service arguments which torture logic and defy law."
Tom Buchele, attorney and professor with Earthrise Law Center of Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon represented the Plaintiffs, Friends of Bell Smith Springs and RACE in this litigation.
