Magnet Films and GUTSY Productions Announce New Documentary “Saving the Hoosier” to Expose Government Plans to Log and Burn Hoosier National Forest
New film will spotlight those voices fighting to preserve vital woods, which host four endangered species and old-growth trees essential for clean air and water in southern Indiana. Currently embroiled in multiple lawsuits nationwide, the United States Forest Service is accused of failing to protect mandated lands. Plaintiffs say the USFS environmental impact studies are outdated and do not consider massive climate change in recent years. Now, Hoosiers are uniting - to save “The Hoosier.”
"The very agency we created to protect our forests now threatens their well-being. We must save Buffalo Springs." - Andy Mahler, founder of Heartwood, a multi-state coalition of forest activists who work to stop national forest logging from the Appalachians to the Ozarks and from the Great Lakes to the Deep South
In response to citizen outcry over plans to log and burn parts of The Hoosier National Forest, GUTSY Productions and Magnet Films today announce production of a new documentary: “Saving the Hoosier: The Fight for the Lungs of America.” Local residents and activists Andy Mahler and Linda Lee oppose this government malfeasance, saying their homestead, the Lazy Black Bear, is at risk from the Buffalo Springs Project’s planned logging and burns. Mahler has been working with local activists to encourage the United States Forest Service (USFS) to revisit their two-decade-old plan.
At 73 and diagnosed with cancer, Andy Mahler’s activism has successfully challenged the USFS in the past, and now draws support from local organizations against what would be the largest logging project in the history of The Hoosier National Forest - known to locals as “The Hoosier.”
“The first time I met Andy, I was inspired by his passion for nature and knew his voice needed to be amplified. I’m thrilled David Yosha quickly agreed to the project,” says Rachael Himsel, producer of “Saving The Hoosier.” Yosha is the founder of Indianapolis-based Magnet Films, and will co-direct the documentary, saying: “Protecting forests is a global concern and local efforts are important to making the change we want to see happen. This documentary will help Hoosiers be more aware of why we need to work to protect The Hoosier.”
Most recently, the Monroe County Board of Commissioners and several environmental organizations filed a lawsuit against the USFS, saying the Houston South Project could threaten the drinking water of 145,000 people.
The producers are working closely with representatives from the Sierra Club, Indiana Forest Alliance, Indiana Karst Conservancy, Hoosier Environmental Council, Earth Charter Indiana, plus Mahler’s legacy projects, Heartwood and Protect Our Woods. Environmental journalist, photographer, and author Steven Higgs’ photos and essays about The Hoosier will provide a narrative from the 1970s until the present for the film.
The production team includes Polina Shumanova, Jim Poyser, Kalynn Huffman Brower, and Steven Stewart, program director of the Hoosier National Forest for the Indiana Forest Alliance and co-founder of Buffalo Trace Preservation Group. Stewart describes The Hoosier and its history: “Whether caves or karst, the Buffalo Trace, Lick Creek, clean spring water, the Lost River or the acres of unique geography and forests, this is a special place that deserves protection. Our children and grandchildren deserve nothing less.”
The United States Forest Service declined to be interviewed for the documentary.
For more information, visit SavingTheHoosier.com
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Climate Change- Contact Information
- Rachael Himsel
- Director
- GUTSY Productions
- info@womenwithguts.com
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