Judge nixes Forest Service logging revision

A federal judge’s ruling this week, scrapping a 2008 revision to U.S. Forest Service logging policies, could affect how the Forest Service approves timber harvesting on its 193 million acres of land, including the Stanislaus National Forest.

U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken, based in Oakland, ruled that the Bush-era change to the National Forest Management Act violated the federal Endangered Species Act. She ordered the Forest Service to reinstate previous rules, which forces the service to include outside wildlife agency studies before approving timber-harvest plans on federal forest land.
 

 The Bush administration revision attempted to weaken the Forest Service rule, which requires maintaining healthy populations of species that are indicators of an ecosystem’s health, such as the spotted owl or salmon.

The administration’s revision allowed the Forest Service to assemble timber-harvest plans without consulting outside wildlife experts — such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which manages at-risk species. The 14 environmental groups that sued the Forest Service said that violates the Endangered Species Act.

The Forest Service argued it engaged in “informal consultations” with wildlife agencies and was therefore in compliance.

It’s unclear how Wilken’s ruling would affect the Stanislaus National Forest. Stanislaus officials directed phone calls to the Pacific Southwest Region office, which forwarded calls to the Forest Service’s Washington D.C. headquarters.

“We have no comment at this time,” said Joe Walsh, the Forest Service spokesman in Washington. “The ruling is being reviewed at the highest levels.”

Wilken on Tuesday scolded the Forest Service for rehashing legal arguments already rejected in two previous cases.

Pro-logging groups saw the decision as another hit to the Forest Service’s ability to manage forests.

“I’m not sure why we’re restricting harvesting when our forests are overgrown,” said Bob Mion, a spokesman for the California Forestry Association.

“Turning back the clock on forest management is exactly the opposite of what we need to be doing on our public lands at this time,” said Melinda Fleming,  Tuolumne County Alliance for Resources and the Environment executive director. “The judges who make such ridiculous decisions are ignorant of the actual state of our forests and have no understanding of what over-stocked forests and drought conditions will bring about.”

Many environmental activists, however, said the ruling marks an end to harmful environmental policies developed by the last administration.

John Buckley, executive director of the Twain Harte-based Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center, said the Bush administration’s revisions could have precipitated the disappearance of some animal and plant species.

“Hopefully we can finally close this chapter of the Forest Service and work together with the Obama administration to develop rules that protect our national forests,” said Marc Fink, attorney representing the Center for Biological Diversity, one of 14 organizations in the lawsuit against the Forest Service.