Environmental Groups Challenge Federal Logging Project in Western Montana

Environmental advocates have launched a legal challenge against the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's proposed logging project, alleging the operation threatens critical wildlife habitats in Montana's Garnet Mountains between Bonner and Drummond.

The lawsuit, filed in Missoula’s federal district court on December 3, targets a plan to log 16,689 acres of BLM-managed lands, which conservation groups argue would impact vital wildlife corridors connecting the Northern Continental Divide, Greater Yellowstone and Bitterroot ecosystems. Specifically, the coalition noted concern for threatened grizzly bears, Canada lynx, bull trout and North American wolverine.

Additionally, the lawsuit alleges the BLM’s Clark Fork Face Forest Health and Fuels Reduction Project failed to “take a hard look” at the climate impacts of removing hundreds of thousands of trees from the forest.

The Center for Biological Diversity is the primary plaintiff, joined in the litigation by the Montana-based Alliance for the Wild Rockies, the Native Ecosystems Council, the Council on Wildlife and Fish, and the Yellowstone to Uintas Connection.

In addition to the lawsuit, the nonprofits sent the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service a 60-day notice of intent to sue, since the BLM relied on FWS’s assessment of project impacts on federally protected species in approving the project. The plaintiffs argue the agency's analysis of the project was insufficient. 

Attorney Kristine Akland, Northern Rockies director at the Center for Biological Diversity, condemned the project in a statement, writing that it prioritizes industrial logging over science-backed conservation.

“After decades of industrial exploitation, this region is just beginning to heal, with grizzly bears and other wildlife starting to return,” Akland wrote. “Instead of encouraging restoration, the BLM is charging ahead with another logging project that will obliterate any chance these embattled species have at making a true recovery.”

The Missoula BLM Office conducted an environmental assessment, first published in December 2022, and issued a decision to move forward with the project this past April.

In the April 19, 2024 announcement greenlighting the project, Missoula Field Manager Erin Carey stated the effort would help curb wildfires and protect firefighters, among other objectives.

“This decision will allow us to improve forest health and reduce hazardous fuels across a majority of the area, while also responding to public comment about the effects of permanent road construction on wildlife and other values including soil productivity, noxious weeds, and recreational uses within the planning area,” Carey said.

The statement iterated the purpose of the project is to “protect life, property, and firefighter safety in and near the wildland-urban interface and promote resilience to wildfire by reducing forest fuel loading and breaking up homogeneous stand conditions.”

Along with the announcement, the BLM posted three agency documents: the Decision Record, Finding of No Significant Impact, and the final Environmental Assessment.

On December 9, Akland told Mountain Journal she had spoken earlier that day with a Department of Justice representative who told her the BLM planned to begin logging in the area immediately.

“I let them know [the Center for Biological Diversity] would likely be filing for an emergency injunction to stop the logging while the judge and the parties brief the case,” Akland said.

Mountain Journal reached out to the BLM’s western Montana media contact, who said the agency is not commenting on pending litigation at this time.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Mountain Journal is a nonprofit, public-interest journalism organization dedicated to covering the wildlife and wild lands of Greater Yellowstone. We take pride in our work, yet to keep bold, independent journalism free, we need your support. Please donate here. Thank you.