The Hoosier National Forest is proposing a Forest Plan amendment that would permanently close a three-mile section of Tower Ridge Road to motorized vehicles and convert it into a hiking and horseback-riding trail, extending the existing Grubb Ridge Trail. Public comments are open now through September 24, 2026.
What the Forest Service Is Proposing
Tower Ridge Road is a gravel forest road in Monroe County, Indiana, that runs between the northern and southern units of the Charles C. Deam Wilderness. Congress left the corridor out of the Wilderness when it drew the boundary. The road has been closed to traffic since July 2025 because of storm damage. Rather than repair it, the Forest Service wants to remove the Forest Plan standard that currently requires Tower Ridge Road to remain open. The current land management plan states, "The area primarily along the Tower Ridge Road... is not part of the Congressionally designated wilderness and will be managed under other management area guidance. These areas are:
- Manage the... 100-foot set-back on either side of Tower Ridge Road... under Management Area 6.2 guidance."
While 6.2 guidance of the land management plan does specifically call out protecting the area for solitude and minimal motorized access, it still keeps this road open and preserves access to the cemeteries along it. The plan explicitly states, "Keep Tower Ridge Road and Hunter Creek Road open."
Amending the plan would let the agency close the damaged section of Tower Ridge Road to motor vehicles and bicycles for good, and reroute the Grubb Ridge Trail, currently a hiking and equestrian trail running parallel to the road, onto the old roadbed.
Forest Service staff cite two reasons for the proposal: reducing noise and vehicle traffic near the Deam Wilderness to support "wilderness character," and reducing road-maintenance costs, since repairing and maintaining Tower Ridge Road would consume a disproportionate share of the forest's limited road budget. The agency points to the recently repaved Hunters Creek Road as an alternative route to the Hickory Ridge Lookout Tower, the Grubb Ridge trailhead, and Todd Cemetery, and notes that motorized access to Blackwell Campground and other private inholdings would be preserved.
The problem with reducing noise to preserve Wilderness character is that Congress specifically left this road out of the Wilderness designation. Tower Ridge Road itself is not part of the designated wilderness, it's an excluded, pre-existing corridor between the two Deam Wilderness units. If Congress had wanted this road to be non-motorized, they would have included it in the Wilderness boundaries to begin with. However, if they had done that then this entire Wilderness area wouldn't have even met the requirements to become Wilderness as it needs to be "untrammeled" by man. Cemeteries and motorized roads definitely show that man exists and uses these lands. The law that designated the Charles C. Deam Wilderness requires that access to cemeteries be preserved.
The cost argument cuts both ways. Converting the roadbed into a permanent trail segment still requires construction and ongoing maintenance. The environmental assessment does not show what repairing the gravel road would cost compared with building and maintaining the trail. NEPA requires the agency to show a range of alternatives and gather public feedback. This proposal gives the public no real comparison to comment on.
Tower Ridge Road was a popular route for off-road vehicle users before the 2025 storm closure. This proposal would make that closure permanent by amending the Forest Plan itself to strip out the standard that has kept the road open. Once the "keep open" standard is removed, restoring motorized access to this corridor becomes basically impossible. A paved alternate route a few miles away does not offer the same recreational experience, and the conversion permanently shrinks the pool of motorized routes available on the Hoosier National Forest.
Tell the Forest Service to keep Tower Ridge Road open and comment before September 24th.
