Happy Pride Month! However you're celebrating, I hope you get a chance to get outdoors. Scroll down to see some of the hikes we have coming up over the next month — we hope to see you on the trail!
In this issue: a report from our Public Lands Day of Action, an update from the fight to save Briar East Woods, an opportunity to take action for our forests and clean energy, plus all our regular features — like photos from you, our readers — and much more!
Happy reading,
Rebecca Dien-Johns Chapter Coordinator
P.S. If you haven't already,please voice your opposition to the drastic cuts to clean energy and climate action, public lands, Medicaid, and other essential government programs that we rely on!
Public Lands Day of Action
Photo: Robyn Skuya-Boss.
As the Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter kicked off the Protecting Indiana Forests Campaign, we took a field trip to explore some of Indiana’s great waterways and spectacular forests.
The group gathered at Cataract Falls State Recreation Area on Saturday, June 7. Observing the nationwide Public Lands Day of Action, Hoosier Chapter members and supporters gathered to stand in solidarity with forest protection across the country.
Lora Kemp Vice Chair, Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter Conservation Committee member and team leader of the Protecting Indiana Forests Campaign.
The Future of Briar East Woods
Last Friday, a public comment period wrapped up on the Governors Parkway bridge project in Hammond, Indiana, which stands to destroy 12.2 acres of a 32-acre dune woodland known as the Briar East Woods.
Save Briar East Woods, a local organization working to protect this ancient natural area from destruction, launched a Public Comment Campaign on May 14, 2025, to help concerned folks speak out against this project, engage in the decision-making process, and show a critical mass in opposition to the project and for the preservation of the urban dune woodland.
Anne Sedlacek Organizer with Save Briar East Woods
Entering a sandy trail at Briar East Woods. Photo: Ken Rosek.
Tell AES Indiana — no new fossil fuels or price hikes for a potential data center!
AES recently announced plans to build a gas plant to serve an unnamed large-scale energy user which could drive our electric prices even higher, and contribute to local air pollution. While this new energy customer hasn't been named, there is a proposed 468-acre data center in Indy's Franklin Township.
Take Action: Tell AES it shouldn't back away from its climate commitments or burden customers with a costly new power plant for a potential data center! sc.org/nodirtypower
Interested in volunteering with the Indiana Beyond Coal Campaign? Sign up for New Volunteer Orientation at tinyurl.com/repowerorient
Southwest Hoosiers continue to advocate for a cleaner, healthier future!
CenterPoint Energy Indiana is currently in its 20-year energy planning process and is backsliding on its 2027 coal-free commitments.
The utility is proposing to keep its largest coal plant running past 2030, which would harm Southwest Hoosiers health and wealth.
You can take action now by signing the Sierra Club petition at sc.org/centerpoint.
Aerial view of the FB Culley Generating Station (top center) in Newburg, next to the Ohio River, Warrick Generating Station, and Alcoa. Photo credit: "2019_10_12_ind-iah-sjc_037" by dsearls is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Contact Nicole Chandler at nicole.chandler@sierraclub.org if you are interested in helping with a postcard petition campaign. Southwest Hoosiers, we're stronger together!
Rise up for old growth forests
Once an old-growth tree is cut and sold, it will take longer than most human lifetimes to replace it.
Old-growth and mature trees and forests provide homes for wildlife, filter drinking water, provide recreational opportunities and absorb and store carbon, helping us to fight climate change.
While the House version of the Fix Our Forests Act purports to address wildfires, it primarily focuses on cutting environmental reviews in national forests to enable greater levels of industrial logging. It would also do nothing to address destructive urban fires, like those that struck the Los Angeles region in January, which are the result of warm, dry weather due to climate change and have nothing to do with forest management.
The Senate version of the Fix Our Forests Act does address some of these holistic wildfire concerns, such as mitigation in the built environment, but its cuts to bedrock environmental laws remain a serious concern. Various provisions in the bill would give the Trump Administration the tools to bypass critical scientific and public review in the name of fast tracking timber harvest.
Sierra Club staff and volunteer leaders are passionate about getting out there and spreading the word about issues that matter to Hoosiers!
Colleen Curtin, Jesse Kirkham, and Rebecca Dien-Johns at Earth Day Indiana in Garfield Park, Indianapolis.
Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter and the Heartlands Group tabled during Earth Day Indiana at Garfield Park in Indianapolis on May 31.
Colleen (Outreach Coordinator), Rebecca (Chapter Coordinator) and Jesse (Heartlands Group Chair) got to talk to so many awesome people — new and old friends, families, longtime environmental advocates, brand new folks, y'all showed up! Thank you to everyone who came by.
The Indiana Beyond Coal Campaign held an event to talk about CenterPoint Energy's 20-year energy planning process on May 10.
Participants took a nature walk through Wesselman Woods following the event.
Indiana Beyond Coal Campaign and Hoosier Chapter staff had the pleasure to attend Dubois County Pride on June 21.
It was a fantastic event to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community in Dubois County and beyond! We had lots of great conversations with utility customers about the impacts of coal on our environment, health, and climate.
Susan Wilder, Terrie Gibbs, Wendy Bredhold, Joab Schultheis, Nicole Chandler, Robyn Skuya-Boss walking at Wesselman Woods. Photo: Robyn Skuya-Boss
Sierra Club staff Nicole and Colleen at Dubois County Pride.
Way Back Wednesday
Welcome to this regular feature where we look back and share photos from our past.
This month, we travel all the way back to October 1987, and a Sierra Club hike at Pioneer Mothers Memorial Forest near Paoli, IN.
Monica Cannaley, volunteer leader, who was then the Outings Chair for the Heartlands Group: "The photo is hard to see, but that was the biggest tree in the forest at the time. It has since fallen down."
Thank you, Monica, for sharing this amazing photo!
A timely reminder of the need to protect our forests and other wild places in Indiana.
