Court OKs bid to block burned tree logging

[Judi Lynn]

Court OKs bid to block burned tree logging

Mar 24, 2006 — SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - An environmental group may proceed with its bid to block harvesting of burned trees in the El Dorado National Forest because forest managers have not adequately assessed the effect of the logging on the endangered California spotted owl, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Friday.

The court also sharply criticized the U.S. Forest Service, saying the agency is putting potential timber profits ahead of environmental regulations.
The Earth Island Institute has a strong likelihood of success in its court challenge to obtain an injunction against the Forest Service's harvesting plans, according to the ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The ruling reverses a lower court's decision backing the Forest Service.

The San Francisco-based appeals court found the Forest Service in its logging plans overpredicted how many trees died in wildfires and did not fully assess how California spotted owls, which are on the U.S. endangered species list, use the scorched habitat.
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http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1764785

[WhiteTara]

1. Yeah! Thanks for the news of this small

victory. We have so very few and the Earth appreciates this one.