Feds sued over logging project in Washington’s old-growth forests

The Center for Biological Diversity, Kettle Range Conservation Group and Methow Forest Forum sued the Forest Service and Fish and Wildlife Service Monday over the Midnight Restoration Project, a 53,000-acre logging plan in Washington's Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest near Twisp.

The groups say roughly 25,000 acres are slated for logging and 27,000 more for fuel reduction, plus 129 miles of fireline, inside reserves meant to shelter northern spotted owls and bull trout under the Endangered Species Act. They argue the project abandons the Northwest Forest Plan's conservation framework in the name of fire prevention.

The Forest Service describes the plan as moving toward a 'healthier, more resilient' forest; a local group president says years of collaboration preceded the lawsuit as a last resort. The suit asks a judge to void the agency's decision and the wildlife service's biological opinion.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.