Judge stops logging on former portion of Elliot State Forest

EUGENE – A federal judge has banned logging on a former piece of Elliot State Forest near Coos Bay.

The Register-Guard reported that Federal Judge Ann Aiken in U.S. District Court in Eugene on Monday issued a preliminary injunction barring Scott Timber Co. and Roseburg Forest -Products from logging the area while she considers a lawsuit by a Eugene-based conservation group.

Cascadia Wildlands in August filed the suit claiming Scott Timber and Roseburg could harm the marbled murrelet if the companies log the 355 acres of forest.

The marbled murrelet is a small seabird that is federally protected. The bird nests in older forests in the Coast Range.