Forest Service sued over logging plan for Utah’s Dixie National Forest

Two conservation groups have filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for Utah to stop the U.S. Forest Service from permitting logging within 8,300 acres of the Dixie National Forest, including thousands of acres that are habitat for such sensitive species as three-toed woodpeckers. The Alliance for the Wild Rockies and Native Ecosystems Council want a federal judge to stop the proposed Iron Springs Timber Sale on the Aquarius Plateau, which overlooks the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Southern Utah, and require the Forest Service to do an Environmental Impact Statement. The project area provides habitat for such sensitive wildlife species as boreal toads, flammulated owls, three-toed woodpeckers, Northern flickers and Northern goshawks, according to the lawsuit. It also is habitat for the Mexican spotted owl and the Utah prairie dog, both listed under the Endangered Species Act. Other wildlife in the area include mule deer, elk and wild turkey. The U.S. Forest Service issued a decision on March 8, 2013, finding the "vegetation improvement and salvage project" would have no significant impacts. The decision also allows reconstruction and maintenance of 36 miles of road and construction of 9.6 miles of temporary roads to facilitate logging activities. According to the Forest Service, the project targets approximately 4,600 acres that are in need of thinning to aid growth and health and improve the mix of tree types; are populated by trees damaged by bark beetle infestations; or are areas in need of reforesting due to 1960s-era harvests. "While the proposed treatments are designed to improve forest health, there is a need to provide valuable commercial forest products to the public," the Forest Service also noted in a 2010 scoping notice for the project...more

How many damn toes is a woodpecker supposed to have?  Wikipedia says:

Woodpeckers, piculets and wrynecks all possess zygodactyl feet. Zygodactyl feet consist of four toes, the first (hallux) and the fourth facing backward and the second and third facing forward. This foot arrangement is good for grasping the limbs and trunks of trees. Members of this family can walk vertically up a tree trunk, which is beneficial for activities such as foraging for food or nest excavation. 

So now you know why these critters are endangered.  They're missing a toe.  

Being the good investigative reporter, I have made a discovery that should shock the USFWS:  Woody Woodpecker only has two toes!  But sshh, don't tell the feds.  My grandchildren would hate me if they took Woody off the air.