The protesters were arrested and most were charged with trespassing in an area marked with U.S. Forest Service closure notice. Both are federal charges.

Some of the protesters were also charged with resisting an officer, according to a Benton Courthouse official.

Karen Metheny, at the Benton Federal Courthouse, said if the eight enter a plea of guilty, they will not have to go to trial. If the protesters plead not guilty, the case will continue with a trial.

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Those arrested were Holly Harris, a SIUC student from Makanda; Jan Wilder-Thomas of Brookport; Eileen Jiskra, a SIUC student from Lombard; Kristen Kordecki, a SIUC student from Hanover Park; Joe Glisson of Creal Springs; Steve Christianson of Naperville; Deborah Bouton of Makanda and Alisa M. Fritz, a SIUC student from Addison.

Metheny said the defendants had not retained an attorney for the hearing because an entry of appearance had not been filed. If any of the protesters have hired an attorney, it has not yet been recorded through the courthouse. Harris said she was unaware of any of the defendents retaining a lawyer.

Harris said she could not comment on the arrests.

The protesters were arrested while opposing the logging of the Cripps Bend area of the Shawnee. The logging began on Sept. 21 after a federal judge ruled he had no jurisdiction in a lawsuit filed against the Forest Service. The lawsuit stated the Forest Service had not adequately assessed the forest for the presence of the Indiana bat.

The logging of Cripps Bend was completed on Sept. 30 by the Carbondale Veneer Company.