Standing Trees, Inc. v. U.S. Forest Service

A lawsuit filed in the federal district court for the District of New Hampshire sought to enjoin 3,000 acres of commercial logging and almost 12 miles of road construction in White Mountain National Forest in connection with two projects authorized by the U.S. Forest Service. The plaintiff alleged that the Forest Service did not undertake the required review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and violated the National Forest Management Act (NFMA). Under NEPA, the plaintiff alleged that the Forest Service failed to take a hard look at environmental impacts, including impacts on climate. The complaint said the Forest Service did not quantify the greenhouse gas emissions that would result from logging and instead “concluded that project-specific emissions were too small to matter in comparison to global emissions and that the projects would yield net benefits for climate change and climate.” The complaint characterized these conclusions as “arbitrary.” The complaint also alleged that the Forest Service did not use best available science to assess climate impacts; disregarded its own science as well as applicable executive direction such as Executive Order 10472, which requires the Forest Service to “retain and enhance carbon storage”; and failed to consider cumulative climate effects of the projects. Under the NFMA, the plaintiff’s allegations included that the Forest Service failed to respond to new information regarding climate change.