Environmentalists sued several federal agencies Tuesday in a bid to stop a timber harvest in southwestern Oregon they fear will endanger old-growth forests and vulnerable owls.
Citing a need to “prevent irreversible harm” to both wildlife and “unique ecological resources,” the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center and two allied organizations filed a lawsuit that would block commercial logging on approximately 8,240 acres of federal land. The challenged “Last Chance” project also would include hazardous fuel reduction on an additional 3,446 acres.
All told, the project would entail construction of 28 miles of new roads and renovation of an additional 241 miles of roads.
“The Project authorizes extensive logging in fire-resilient old-growth forests and serpentine ecosystems that provide essential habitat for imperiled species, and will increase wildfire risk in portions of the Project area for the next two decades,” the lawsuit states.
