Ecology Center v. Austin

From the Missoulian: "The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has called the Lolo National Forest's efforts to log in areas burned by the fires of 2000 'arbitrary and capricious' and reversed a lower court's ruling in favor of the agency.

"The San Francisco-based court likened the U.S. Forest Service's efforts to thin old-growth stands for forest health without knowing for sure how those efforts would impact wildlife to pharmaceutical companies marketing drugs without ensuring they are safe and effective."

Read the opinion from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals for more details.

The Post Burn Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Record of Decision are available on the Lolo National Forest website. The Burned Area Assessment 2000 may also be useful.

The Region 1 Forest Service site also includes documents relating to appeals of Lolo Post Burn decisions:

Appeal Decision (Ecology Center)

Recommendation Letter (Ecology Center)

Appeal Decision (Montanans for Property Rights)

Recommendation Letter (Montanans for Property Rights)

The Ecology Center website includes opinions on post-burn projects and a documents archive.

Source: "Court rules against Lolo National Forest." Missoulian December 10, 2005. A1.