FORESTS
Judge tosses Bush-era management regulations
A federal judge sided with environmentalists yesterday and threw out Bush-era Forest Service regulations that govern management plans for national forests. Judge Claudia Wilken of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that the service failed to analyze the effects from removing requirements guaranteeing viable wildlife populations. The planning rule determines how 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands develop individual forest plans, governing activities from timber harvests to recreation and protecting endangered plants and animals.