BLOOMINGTON — Lawmakers and conservation groups are renewing a push in early 2026 to expand Indiana’s only federally designated wilderness area and create a new national recreation area within the Hoosier National Forest.
The proposal would enlarge the Charles Deam Wilderness, established by Congress in 1982, and designate a Benjamin Harrison National Recreation Area across a largely contiguous segment of forest spanning more than 20 miles east to west and about 12 miles north to south. The region represents the largest unbroken stretch of national forest in the lower Midwest and the only national forest land in Indiana, providing environmental, recreational and economic benefits to nearby communities and visitors.
An analysis conducted by Earth Economics in partnership with the Indiana Forest Alliance estimated that protecting roughly 55,000 acres of natural ecosystems through the proposed designations would generate at least $235 million in annual public benefits, totaling about $5.4 billion over three decades…