LOS ANGELES, Calif.― Yesterday, three organizations associated with the commercial timber industry filed to intervene in a case brought by conservation organizations against the Forest Service earlier this year over the agency’s decision to allow commercial logging in the Los Padres National Forest.
The original lawsuit, filed by Los Padres ForestWatch, John Muir Project of Earth Island Institute, and the Center for Biological Diversity in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, argues the U.S. Forest Service violated federal law by approving the removal of large-diameter trees along 12 miles of Tecuya Ridge in the northeastern corner of the Los Padres National Forest. The area is an important roosting area for endangered California condors, which spend the night in large trees during long flights across the landscape. In addition, much of the project is in an Inventoried Roadless Area. Under federal law, logging in roadless areas is limited to smaller trees.
During the planning of the project, the Forest Service repeatedly assured the public that the project was not focused on commercial logging and that timber companies would likely be uninterested in the project. However, the American Forest Resource Council, California Forestry Association, and Associated California Loggers are now jointly seeking to formally participate in the litigation, intending to defend the projects in court.
In newly filed court documents, the timber industry organizations say they “have an economic interest at stake in this case” due to their “direct interests in the economic benefits from the implementation of the Tecuya Project.” The groups also state that the “Tecuya Project can contribute to area timber supply,” noting potential interest by companies such as Sierra Forest Products and Sullivan Logging.
“The timber industry’s desire to intervene in this case shows that commercial logging is in fact a key aspect of this project, contrary to the Forest’s Service’s claims otherwise.,” said Bryant Baker, conservation director of Los Padres ForestWatch. “That this project is proposed along a ridge that supports dozens of California condor roosting sites is all the more perverse and unacceptable.”
The Forest Service approved the Tecuya Ridge project in the spring after excluding it from standard environmental review for projects of that size and potential impact under the National Environmental Policy Act. The agency’s action prevented additional public input or consideration of alternatives, such as creating defensible space immediately adjacent to the communities at risk instead of in a remote area.
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