Feds Call Off North Idaho Salvage Logging Project after Lawsuit

LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) — The U.S. Forest Service has rescinded a decision approving a salvage logging project in northern Idaho after a federal judge halted the plan at the request of two environmental groups.

The Lewiston Tribune reports that Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest Supervisor Cheryl Probert on Wednesday stopped the project so the agency could re-examine the analysis leading to its approval.

The project near the Selway and Middle Fork Clearwater rivers was intended to harvest 34 million board feet of timber scorched by a 2014 wildfire. Idaho Rivers United and Friends of the Clearwater sued and received an injunction, contending the logging violates the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.