The Forest Service scrapped a logging project in a North Carolina national forest just as lawyers were readying to spar over a key question: When can the federal government harvest timber on public land without telling the public?
At issue is an operation in November covering about 120 acres in western North Carolina’s Pisgah National Forest, an area hit hard by Tropical Storm Helene in September 2024.
According to the Southern Environmental Law Center, the Forest Service targeted an area that was largely intact after the storm but portrayed the project as an emergency salvage operation that can sidestep lengthy environmental reviews.
The agency — which told POLITICO’s E&E News that the project was indeed an important part of storm recovery — logged around 15 acres and canceled the rest. But the agency said issues around access to the site — not the legal challenge — prompted the decision.
