Timber sale near Yellowstone fought

BILLINGS – A coalition of conservation groups has filed suit seeking to halt a timber sale in the Gallatin National Forest, contending it would harm key wildlife habitat near Yellowstone National Park.

The three groups want a federal judge to stop the Darroch-Eagle timber sale until U.S. Forest Service officials more fully study its potential environmental effects.

The suit filed Friday in U.S. District Court contends the sale was under contract when the agency conducted a revised environmental assessment and that the Forest Service “failed to take the hard look required.”

The Bear Creek Council, Alliance for the Wild Rockies and Native Ecosystems Council also are seeking a temporary restraining order.

Hank Rate of the Bear Creek Council said logging activity is set to begin as early as Monday.

Listed as defendants are the Forest Service and two officials: Rebecca Heath, supervisor at the Gallatin National Forest, and Abigail Kimbell, regional forester for the Northern Region.

Lorette Ray, a spokeswoman with the Gallatin National Forest, said she had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment on the groups’ claims.

Legal challenges in the sale go back to 1999, when conservationists sued over the Forest Service’s environmental study of the Darroch-Eagle project. A District Court found for the defendants and the Bear Creek Council and Native Ecosystems Council went to federal appeals court.

In the summer of 2001 the sale was advertised and awarded. But a 2002 order by the appeals court found issues the Forest Service needed to address and put the sale on hold until they were, helping bring about a revised environmental study, the lawsuit says. That assessment was released for public comment earlier this year without the timber sale contract having been canceled, the lawsuit says. In April, forest officials announced plans to continue with a sale.

The decision was then appealed to the Forest Service by the plaintiffs, but their appeal was denied earlier this month, the lawsuit says.

The groups say the area, near Gardiner, provides key habitat for wildlife, including grizzly bears and wolves, as well as recreational opportunities. They say the sale also allows for the building and rebuilding of roads for logging activity.

Ray said plans call for the harvest of 2.9 million board feet on about 195 acres.