BLM’s removal of juniper trees halted after lawsuit

BURLEY, Idaho – An environmental group has stopped a juniper tree removal project by the Bureau of Land Management on agency property in southern Idaho, at least for now.

“The BLM caved in like an old aluminum can and they caved in because they were breaking the law,” said Jon Marvel, director of Western Watersheds Project, the group that filed a lawsuit against the BLM.

In November, the Burley office of the BLM began chaining juniper trees – a process that uproots large numbers of trees – in the Jim Sage Mountains of Cassia County as part of a vegetation treatment project. The project, agency officials say, was meant to reduce fire hazard and restore sagebrush habitat for wildlife. Hailey-based Western Watersheds Project filed a lawsuit to end the project, claiming the agency failed to follow federal guidelines. The group also contends the project’s ulterior motive was to promote livestock grazing on public lands.

On Wednesday, District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill signed a settlement agreement between the two groups that halts further juniper removal without additional study. The BLM also agreed to pay $4,000 to Western Watersheds for attorneys’ fees in the case. On Thursday afternoon, Wendy Reynolds, who manages the Burley field office of the BLM, had not seen the settlement agreement. However, Reynolds said the agency will re-evaluate its project and find other ways to meet the goals of fire prevention and habitation improvement.

“We would still like to have the opportunity to work in the Jim Sage,” Reynolds said. “We recognize there are still areas of concern for residents.”

The BLM chained between 500 and 600 acres of public lands before Western Watersheds stepped in.

The settlement agreement prohibits the BLM from piling and burning the junipers or proceeding with other treatments. The agency already has seeded the area with native grasses where the junipers were chained, Reynolds said.