LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A federal judge has struck down permits that allow two farmers to grow corn and soybeans in a federal nature preserve in western Kentucky and Tennessee because the U.S. Forest Service violated its own rules in handling the agreements.

U.S. District Judge Thomas B. Russell said it was “unreasonable” for the Forest Service to delegate its power to issue special use permits to the National Wild Turkey Federation, which in turn signed contracts allowing two farmers to grow row crops in Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area.

The decision, issued Thursday, comes in a long-running battle between environmentalists and the Forest Service over farming and the use of pesticides in the 235-square-mile protected area.
Russell ruled that, under the intricate web of laws governing national forests and lands, special-use permits issued by the Forest Service are required to allow people to put anything in the area that wouldn’t naturally grow or live there. He turned away a challenge by the Eugene, Ore.-based Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics (FSEEE) to the use of pesticides on crops grown in the area, saying the Forest Service has experience with the chemicals and can handle them properly.

Andy Stahl, FSEEE executive director, said the group is pleased with the decision to void the farming contracts, but is reviewing the decision about the pesticides and may appeal it. The decision about allowing pesticides isn’t based on any data or showing by the Forest Service that they’ve carefully monitored the effect the chemicals have on amphibians in the area, he said.

Stephanie Johnson, a spokeswoman for the Forest Service’s regional office in Atlanta, declined immediate comment. A message left for Brian Dowler, a spokesman for the National Wild Turkey Federation, was not immediately returned.