The Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge in Jefferson County, Indiana, is a Globally Important Bird Area. Its 50,000 acres shelter rare and endangered species — many found nowhere else in the region. Now this irreplaceable landscape faces a serious threat: a proposed 7.1 million square foot hyperscale data center at the adjacent Jefferson Proving Ground.

A campus this size brings significant environmental risks. Residents and the Jefferson County Concerned Citizens group have raised repeated alarms about pollution, dramatic spikes in water usage, and the long-term damage this kind of industrial development could cause to the surrounding ecosystem. Spokesperson Jill Koren put it plainly: "You look at the facts that they're stating or not stating, and those things just do not add up," she told WFIU.

The approval process has moved at alarming speed. No developer has been publicly named. No environmental impact assessment has been required. A project on 550-plus acres — directly adjacent to a protected wildlife refuge — is advancing with almost no public scrutiny of its environmental consequences.

Big Oaks was established to protect this land after decades of military use at Jefferson Proving Ground. It should not now become collateral damage in a race to build AI infrastructure. Jefferson County's endangered species, its waterways, and its natural beauty deserve a decision-making process that takes their future seriously.

Jefferson County Commissioners have the authority to slow this process and demand a full environmental review before any development moves forward.

Sign this petition to urge Jefferson County Commissioners to require a comprehensive environmental impact assessment before the data center proceeds.

Photo: Kassandra Karssen/USFWS