Court Finds Forest Service Violated Federal Environmental Laws
in Approving More than 16,000 Acres of Logging in Wisconsin's North Woods
Federal Judge Lynn Adelman of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin (Milwaukee) ruled that the Forest Sevice violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by failing to fully and fairly consider the cumulative impacts of five other current timber sales when it approved both the 8,800-acre McCaslin timber sale near Lakeland and the 7,740-acre Northwest Howell timber sale east of Eagle River in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. The Court granted injunctions holding off the timber sales unless and until the Forest Service fully complies with the environmental laws.
Howard Learner, The Environmental Law and Policy Center's Executive Director and Senior Attorney, who presented the cases for the plaintiffs before the Court, said, "These are important decisions protecting clean water, good habitat and outdoor recreation resources in Wisconsin's North Woods that we all care about." ELPC filed three lawsuits challenging timber sales in Northern Wisconsin's National Forest on behalf of the Habitat Education Center. They have won the McCaslin and Northwest Howell cases and are waiting for a decision on the Cayuga timber sale involving another 5,600 acres near Clam Lake.
Technorati: forests, Forest Service, Wisconsin
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