A motion for a temporary restraining order which could have halted the logging in the Cripps Bend area of the Shawnee National Forest was denied Wednesday.

Judge J. Phil Gilbert denied the restraining order, claiming the plaintiffs, Bill Cronin and Mark Donham, did not provide adequate evidence that the U.S. Forest Service had not properly assessed the Cripps Bend area for the presence of the Indiana bat, a federally endangered specie.

Gilbert also cited that most of the trees in the Cripps Bend area had already been cut, making the restraining order moot.

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A case filed by Cronin on Tuesday is still pending. The case, filed in conjunction with the restraining order, asks for an assessment of Indiana bat presence in other planned logging sites of the forest.

Gilbert said he would hold a hearing in the future assessing other timber cuts planned by the Forest Service.

Gilbert said with this decision, the logging at Cripps Bend will most likely be completed.

The Forest Service was told by Gilbert that if they have any future timber harvests, they are to notify the plaintiffs in the case and the court.

Environmentalists said they are disappointed about Gilbert’s decision.

I was hoping he’d just stop it (the timber cut), Cronin said. It would have saved a little bit.

Cronin filed the first lawsuit in July, claiming the Forest Service did not properly assess the forest for the presence of the bat. Gilbert ruled Sept. 12 that the case was out of his jurisdiction because a required 60-day period for the case had not expired.

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Cutting began at Cripps Bend last week. Around 500 trees have been logged from about 680 trees in the sale.

Stan Curtis, owner of Carbondale Veneer, the company hired to log the area, declined comment on the judge’s decision.