Forest Sued Over Road Plan Conservation League Says Construction Will Hurt Lochsa

The Clearwater National Forest is allowing road construction near the headwaters of the Lochsa River without required state approval, the Idaho Conservation League charged Wednesday.

The result will be heavy sedimentation in an already damaged stream, the environmental group said. The group filed suit in federal court in Boise on Wednesday to stop the project.

“They are building a road in highly unstable geology,” said Mark Solomon, president of the league. “The Forest Service is blatantly violating state water quality standards,” endangering chinook salmon, bull trout, steelhead and cutthroat.”

Earlier mudslides in the area damaged Walton Creek, the league said. So the group appealed a Forest Service decision to let Plum Creek Timber Co. build a road across Forest Service land to reach Plum Creek land.

The Forest Service then agreed to get approval from the Idaho Division of Environmental Quality before giving Plum Creek access to the area, Solomon said. The agency couldn’t get DEQ to agree that the project wouldn’t harm the stream, but plowed ahead anyway, Solomon said.

DEQ officials who are dealing with the Walton Creek project were out of town and could not be reached for comment. The Forest Service, meanwhile, said it made a diligent effort to get DEQ’s approval and finally decided to proceed.

“We have written DEQ three letters, met with them twice and had four phone conversations over the last three months,” said Doug Gochnour, the Clearwater Forest planning officer. “They haven’t concurred, they haven’t not concurred.”

The Forest Service wrote DEQ Sept. 15 saying that if the DEQ didn’t respond in 10 days, the Forest Service would consider that a green light. DEQ didn’t respond, Gochnour said.

“We have a responsibility to provide Plum Creek reasonable access,” Gochnour said. The timber company was allowed to start cutting trees in the road right of way last week.

, DataTimes