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Forest Service planning to update camping regulations in Hoosier National Forest

By Clayton Baumgarth

Posted December 15, 2023

A map of the area where the rules would have the most effect. (Courtesy of the Forest Service)

The Forest Service has issued a draft decision to reduce the impact campers have on the environment.

The group plans to prohibit camping within 200 feet of trails, trailheads, roads, water sources, rock shelters, caves and historic structures. They also plan on restricting camping within a half-mile of the Monroe Lake shoreline, unless in a Forest Service designated campsite.

Mike Chaveas, Forest Supervisor for the Shawnee and Hoosier National Forests, said frequently used campsites can cause loss of vegetation, soil erosion, and human waste runoff. Giving those frequented spots a reprieve will help reverse those effects.

“Nature will kind of rehab itself a little bit to get some more vegetation growing in there, to decompact the ground and get a control of the erosion that's been caused from the overuse,” he said. “But in more severely impacted areas, there's some things we might do like some reseeding or planting or maybe roughing up the soil a little bit to try and get vegetation more established in those areas.”

The new rules are a way for the Forest Service to streamline existing regulations and create more consistency throughout the forest.

“The existing language in our forest plan has different buffers in terms of how close people can camp to certain features,” he said. “And it can be a bit confusing. Depending on what that feature is, we want to harmonize those regulations down a little bit, so people understand them better, they're more clear, and then it'll help us get a better handle on the impacts that are happening to our resources.”

The proposed rule specifically targets camping near Monroe Lake’s shoreline due to how popular the site has become.

“We're seeing a lot of a lot of concerns to a very popular place to be on a crowded weekend or a busy weekend,” he said. “You'll see people all along the shoreline camping, and that has some very significant effects on soil erosion on people using it. Sometimes we see bad behavior of people cutting down trees for firewood and destroying archaeological sites.”

For these rules to take effect, the Hoosier National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan has to be amended to remove two conflicting rules. There will be a 45-day objection period for those who left a public comment on the changes before a final decision is made.