The U.S. Forest Service kicked off timber sales in the Hoosier National Forest this week despite resistance from advocacy groups and Gov. Mike Braun, who called the federal project “misguided.”

The timber auction is part of a controversial forest management plan called the Houston South Project — an initiative the USFS says will promote tree growth, reduce disease and move the landscape toward "desirable conditions."

Local environmental advocates have been suing the agency to halt operations since 2020, saying the project could jeopardize the quality of drinking water 130,000 Hoosiers rely on in Lake Monroe.

But the project is plowing ahead, despite local outcry and direct pleas from Braun to halt the project. The Forest Service declined to immediately comment to IndyStar's request,

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