Groups appeal judge’s veto of logging injunction

Excerpt from article by Alex MacLean, The Union Democrat 

Several environmental groups suing the US Forest Service over an ongoing project to remove dead and damaged trees within the Stanislaus National forest burned by last year’s Rim Fire have appealed a federal judge’s October decision denying a preliminary injunction that would have halted the logging work until the case is over.

The 2013 Rim Fire burned more than 257,000 acres in the Western Sierra Nevada, including about 154,000 in the Stanislaus National Forest. Logging contractors have been working since late September to remove burned trees from about 15,000 acres of severely scorched terrain and 17,000 acres near roads and developed facilities, such as campgrounds and recreation areas.

Susan Skalski, the former Stanislaus National Forest supervisor who signed the order that authorized the logging project, and the Forest Service are named as defendants in the lawsuit. Several “intervenors” have stepped up to help the Forest Service defend the project in court, including the American Forest Resource Council, California Forestry Association, William and Mary Crook, Sierra Pacific Industries, California Farm Bureau, Yosemite Stanislaus Solutions, and Tuolumne County.

Local environmental groups, including the Central Sierra Environmental Resource Agency and Audubon Society, support the Rim Fire salvage logging because they say the burned wood could fuel large wildfires and impede reforestation efforts in the future.  Industry groups and timber operators also say the work will help sustain logging jobs in the area. Supports of the project say an injunction to halt the logging work during the court process could endanger the future of the project because burned wood loses its value within about two years following a fire.