Justice Department Wins Three Cases to Allow for Sustainable Timber Management Including Harvesting

The President’s directive to expand timber production touches on a number, whole-of-government efforts needed to improve forest management. The Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) plays an important role in defending those agencies’ actions, and recently the division successfully defended projects in Montana, Idaho, and California that underscore this work.

In Montana, ENRD defended the Forest Service’s South Plateau Landscape Area Treatment Project on the Custer Gallatin National Forest. The project is designed to increase landscape resiliency to insects and disease, help protect a nearby community from wildland fire and contribute to a sustained yield of timber products. The magistrate judge recommended the district court uphold the project after finding, among other things, consistent and science-based support in the project’s approach to grizzly bear and lynx and their habitat.

In the Central District of California, ENRD defended the North Big Bear Landscape Restoration Project in the San Bernardino National Forest. The project will thin trees and reduce wildfire risk, and the district court’s decision affirmed the Forest Service’s review of the science and makes clear that thinning trees is not always controversial and thus subject to additional levels of scrutiny.

A third case in Idaho focused on two large forest health restoration projects on Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests in Idaho. The projects will improve forest health, reduce fire risk, and provide timber that will support the social and economic structure of local rural communities and provide for regional and national needs. The Forest Service had done an extensive environmental impact statement and other work to comply with a 2021 order from the district court. The court found that the Forest Service’s work addressed its concerns and provided thorough analyses, paving the way for the projects to proceed.