Environmental groups sued the Trump administration Friday to block a revised land management plan for national forests in North Carolina, saying the plan developed in 2023 leans too heavily toward logging.
The Southern Environmental Law Center, the Center for Biological Diversity and other groups said the forest plan’s flaws — including clear-cutting for timber — are magnified by the damage from Hurricane Helene, which ravaged the state last fall.
“This disastrous plan broke the law and the hearts of millions of forest visitors,” said Will Harlan, Southeast director at the CBD, in a news release. “The most popular and biodiverse national forest in the country should not be targeted for massive increases in clearcuts, especially after Helene.”
The two forests in question — the Pisgah and Nantahala — were among the first national forests in the East. When the Forest Service finalized the forest plan revision, the agency touted its collaboration with Native tribes, local governments and others.
