Two nonprofit environmentalist organizations, Oregon Wild and WildEarth Guardians, filed a complaint against the United States Forest Service, two district rangers, the Chief of the Forest Service, and the Secretary of Agriculture alleging the defendants violated the Administrative Procedure Act and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Allegedly, the defendants authorized three park projects which included commercial thinning—a type of logging where salable trees are cut and sold for their commercial value—without preparing an Environmental Impact Statement or Environmental Assessment of the potential damages these projects would do to the environment, ecosystem, and native species. According to the complaint, the defendants authorized a total of 45 square miles of commercial thinning.
The plaintiffs seek the following for relief: a declaration the Forest Service violated NEPA, an injunction preventing the Forest Service from implementing the commercial thinning projects until they comply with NEPA, and fees and costs.
The plaintiff is represented by Crag Law Center.
