HARRISBURG, Ill. (WJPF) — Illinois Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth are asking the U.S. Forest Service to determine if the Shawnee National Forest meets the requirements to be considered for wilderness protection.

The Shawnee Wilderness Designation Act would protect all 289,000 acres of the forest as wilderness.

Currently there are seven designated wilderness areas in the Shawnee National Forest, making up about 10% or 30,000 acres of the total forest. Durbin and Duckworth are now asking the Forest Service to determine if the entire forest meets the designation.