Fewer lawsuits possible benefit of forest pact

Long on opposing sides when it comes to forest use, timber interests and environmental groups have agreed on how thinning and prescribed burns should be done on nearly 1 million acres of Arizona’s ponderosa pine forest. The upfront agreement could take tough disputes out of the courtroom and lead to fewer delays in implementing projects, U.S. Forest Service officials say. Some 170 lawsuits over the past 51/2 years have been filed challenging timber harvest and fuels reduction on national forests, according to the agency. “We are looking for more opportunities to replicate this,” said Faye Krueger, deputy forester for the Southwest region that includes Arizona and New Mexico. A handful of similar collaborations have been recently used in forest restoration, range management and forest road access plans across the West. One of the largest western forest restoration projects cleared a major hurdle in April, when two environmental groups and a Flagstaff logging company agreed to limit the size of trees that could be cut along Arizona’s Mogollon Rim. The trees would be removed as part of efforts to restore a natural fire regime. The Mogollon Rim, a prominent line of cliffs that cuts across north-central Arizona and divides the state’s high country from the desert, has been the site of some of the state’s biggest wildfires...AP