In Boise National Forest, Environmental Groups Sue to Protect Endangered Species
From July to November of 2016, the Pioneer Fire raged through Boise National Forest, leaving more than 188,000 acres burned and a legacy as one of the most expensive wildfires in the American West. Nearly a year later, the BNF is still vulnerable and deep in recovery, and two US Forest Service projects—the North and South Pioneer Fire Salvage and Restoration Projects, which aim to salvage and sell hazard and non-hazard trees, as well as plant new seedlings—have come under fire from environmental groups as violations of the Endangered Species Act.
Three conservation groups, WildLands Defense, Alliance for the Wild Rockies and the Ecosystem Council, filed a joint suit against the Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the BNF Supervisor and the Forest Service Chief Sept. 29, claiming the post-fire logging projects violate Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. In an official complaint, the plaintiffs argue federal agencies did not follow established procedure to ensure the endangered bull trout population wouldn’t be negatively impacted by logging.
“Two hundred and ninety miles of road maintenance, 10 new miles of roads, and the removal of ground-stabilizing trees in a post-burn landscape creates a high likelihood of sedimentation impacts in the critical habitat of bull trout,” said Brian Ertz, attorney for the plaintiffs, who added that sediments washed into streams could suffocate fish eggs, destroy insect habitat and fill the inlets and pools where trout take shelter. “It doesn’t pass the smell test in terms of the science. They’re ignoring the impact to bull trout because they want to get that timber out and get it sold.”
The projects are already underway due to two Forest Service Emergency Situation Determinations (ESDs), which Ertz said were made hastily, without taking into account “the best scientific and commercial data available” required by the Endangered Species Act. Although the Forest Service has promised to leave 240-foot buffer zones around stream habitats, and has complied with the National Environmental Policy Act by conducting an Environmental Assessment that came back predicting no significant impact to endangered species, Ertz and his clients aren’t satisfied with the science. They think the Forest Service should take the next step outlined by NEPA and prepare an Environmental Impact Statement in addition to the EA already conducted, even though a second study isn't required with a no significant impact finding.
Read more: https://www.boiseweekly.com/boise/in-boise-national-forest-environmental-groups-sue-to-protect-endangered-species/Content?oid=7415465