Logging Industry Lawsuit Thrown Out
A federal judge threw out a lawsuit that would have allowed for more logging in Tongass National Forest.
Tongass forests protected as judge throws out lawsuit
WASHINGTON - A federal judge has thrown out an industry lawsuit that
could have led to more logging and road building in Alaska's Tongass
National Forest, the nation's largest federal forest.
U.S.
District Judge John Bates on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by a
timber group and an organization of Southeast Alaska civic and business
leaders. The Southeast Conference and Alaska Forest Association had
challenged a 2008 management plan for the Tongass developed by the Bush
administration.
Environmental groups hailed the ruling as a
small victory, saying the judge had prevented what they consider a bad
forest plan from becoming even worse. Those groups say the Bush plan
does not do enough to protect old-growth reserves and sites that are
sacred to Alaska Native tribes.
