The federal district court for the District of Idaho enjoined two “forest health projects” that would involve “extensive timber harvest” in the Nez Pearce-Clearwater National Forests. The court found that the U.S. Forest Service violated the National Forest Management Act by failing to establish that the projects were consistent with Nez Pearce Forest Plan criteria defining old growth stands. The court also found that the environmental review for one of the projects did not adequately consider the two projects’ cumulative environmental impact in relation to old growth. The court rejected other arguments, including that the Forest Service failed to adequately address contrary scientific views on the efficacy of forest thinning to reduce wildfire risk and insect outbreaks. The plaintiff’s allegations included that old growth forests “fight climate change by sequestering carbon[] and are refugia for species facing a changing climate.”

Lawsuit challenging the U.S. Forest Service's approvals of two logging projects in the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests.

Friends of the Clearwater v. Probert

<p>This entry was provided by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. Please see the terms of use for citation and licensing of third party data.</p>

Citing Inadequate Analysis of Old Growth Forests, Idaho Federal Court Blocked Timber Harvests in National Forest

Filed

United States of America

Idaho

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Justice is the ethical and political framework that addresses fairness, including issues of responsibility, rights, and structural inequity.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

Actions or measures to adapt terrestrial systems to climate change.

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater systems to climate change.

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater, coastal and marine systems to climate change.

Extreme weather refers to events where a weather variable exceeds (or falls below) a threshold. Meaning it is significantly different from the average or usual weather pattern.

Terrestrial means "of the earth" and relates to the risks to ecological system that includes all living organisms and their interactions within land-based environments, such as forests, grasslands, and deserts.

Social inclusion is the process of improving the terms on which individuals and groups take part in society—improving the ability, opportunity, and dignity of those disadvantaged on the basis of their identity.

Fossil gas, commonly known as natural gas, is a fossil fuel consisting chiefly of methane with smaller amounts of other hydrocarbons and trace gases, found in underground deposits.

Coal is a combustible sedimentary rock formed from carbonised plant matter, rich in carbon and hydrocarbons, and occurring in several main types including hard coal and brown coal.

People with different national or cultural traditions from the dominant population

Social and cultural groups that share collective ancestral ties to the lands and natural resources where they live, occupy or from which they have been displaced

woman and genders outside of the gender binary

Activities of industries that extract natural resources, such as mining, oil, and gas, for commercial use.

Activities that involve planning, designing and building infrastructure, residential, and commercial structures.

Activities of government agencies and institutions that provide public services, enforce laws and manage public resources.

Activities that involve the cultivation of crops and raising of livestock for food, fibre, and other products essential for human life and industry.

Activities that relate to the production of goods and services from forests.

Activities involving the catching, processing, and selling of fish for food, recreation, and industry.

Citing Inadequate Analysis of Old Growth Forests, Idaho Federal Court Blocked Timber Harvests in National Forest

Risk

Impacted group

Just transition

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance