On 15 December 2012, the Karnataka Wildlife Board recommended that Bisle Reserve Forest, along with Kaginahare and Kanchankumari reserve forests to the north, be included in Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary. The Ministry of Environment and Forests also supported the proposal. In May 2014 wildlife biologist Sanjay Gubbi reiterated the call to include these reserve forests in the protected area, and said that a conspiracy to make money in the name of mini-hydel projects was the reason for the Karnataka state government's refusal to redesignate these reserve forests as a wildlife sanctuary or national park.