U.S. judge prohibits two sales of timber

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Good news for people that prefer their trees upright.



U.S. judge prohibits two sales of timber
Impact of harvest wasn't assessed
By TOM HELD
[e-mail]
Posted: April 1, 2005
A federal judge has blocked two planned sales of timber from the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in Wisconsin, ruling that the U.S. Forest Service failed to meet legal standards in assessing the impact the harvest would have on hawks and martens.

The rulings, one Thursday and one Friday, require the forest service to consider the cumulative impacts of all six national forest timber sales the agency approved in 2003, rather than assessing them individually.

"An agency can't splice and dice individual actions and not look at the forest through the trees," said Howard Learner, a Chicago attorney who challenged the timber sales in federal court. ...

Full story at: http://www.jsonline.com/news/state/apr05/314775.asp