A Gallatin National Forest timber sale sidelined by court cases spanning nearly six years has been upheld by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, allowing the sale to proceed over objections it threatens wildlife habitat near Yellowstone National Park.
In a separate Gallatin case, an officer at the Forest Service's Missoula regional office rejected the appeal of a project officials say will reduce wildfire risk in the Boulder River Canyon.
The 9th Circuit upheld the Darroch-Eagle timber sale northeast of Gardiner, a project challenged by the Bear Creek Council, the Alliance for the Wild Rockies and the Native Ecosystems Council. They charged the sale would violate Endangered Species Act protection of grizzly bears and standards in the Gallatin Forest Plan.
Plans call for removing 2.9 million board feet of timber on about 195 acres; building nearly a mile of temporary roads; rebuilding 3.6 miles of existing roads; and closing 6.6 miles of roads during the big-game hunting season.
The sale first was challenged in 1999, through an appeal submitted to the Forest Service's regional forester. The case escalated in the court system, with the 9th Circuit earlier this year halting the sale temporarily. In its decision announced this week, the court rejected several arguments, including claims that the Endangered Species Act and the Gallatin Forest Plan each require the sale must benefit grizzlies.
In the Boulder River Canyon case, an appeals officer at the regional office upheld what Gallatin National Forest officials called a "fuels reduction" project. The Ecology Center, the Alliance for the Wild Rockies and the Native Ecosystems Council filed the appeal based on concerns about fish and wildlife, water quality and other natural resources issues.
Alliance executive Michael Garrity said there was no immediate decision on whether to take the case to federal court.
Some environmental groups have endorsed the Boulder River Canyon project, as have many people who live or recreate there.
In denying the appeal early this week, deciding officer Kathleen McAllister wrote that the Gallatin supervisor "has made a reasoned decision and has complied with all laws, regulations and policy."
The Forest Service plans to thin trees on up to 2,500 acres; prescribe burning on about 400 acres; and build up to 7.4 miles of temporary roads.
The Boulder River Canyon has dozens of houses, four church camps, six Forest Service campgrounds and a number of wilderness trailheads. Up to 3,000 people occupy the area on a typical summer weekend, the Forest Service said.Associated Press via Casper Star Tribune
