9th US Circuit Court stops Mission Brush logging project

A logging project in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest has been stopped by the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals. The ruling handed down today stops the Forest Service from logging nearly 4,000 acres of land in northern Idaho. The Forest Service had hoped to log the land to bring the dense, Douglas fir-packed forest closer to its historical composition. Officials said thinning the forest would reduce fire danger and lower the risk of insect infestation. But the environmental groups The Lands Council and the Wild West Institute sued, saying the plan would harm the ecosystem. The circuit court sided with the environmentalists.

A District Court had denied the Lands Council motion for a preliminary injunction to halt the logging project and had ruled the Lands Council was unlikely to prevail on it's claims. The 9th Circuit reversed and remanded. Go here to read the opinion.