A federal judge has rejected an environmental challenge to the Forest Service’s plans to log in the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire.
Judge Joseph Laplante of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire ruled last week that the Forest Service had met its legal obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act when it developed two logging plans in the area.
The Vermont Law and Graduate School Environmental Advocacy Clinic filed the lawsuit in May 2024 on behalf of the group Standing Trees, asking the court to halt the Tarleton and Peabody West projects until a thorough review is conducted.
Standing Trees, which is focused on protecting and restoring New England’s forests, had argued that the Forest Service “bypassed” a required environmental review and that the projects would permit logging of 3,000 acres and construction of over 11 miles of permanent roads in the national forest.
