The American Forest Resource Council (AFRC) submits these comments in response to the Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) regarding CEQ’s regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (40 C.F.R. Part 1500). See 83 Fed. Reg. 28591 (June 20, 2018).
Legal Program
AFRC plays offense and defense in the courtroom. Learn how legal decisions and precedents are shaping public forest policy.
Magistrate Judge Smacks Down Enviros’ Arguments on Collaboration
Magistrate Judge Smacks Down Enviros’ Arguments on Collaboration Portland, Ore. – Yesterday, Magistrate Judge Sullivan offered a strong rebuke of a dubious legal challenge to an important public safety project on the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest in Northeast Oregon. Judge Sullivan called out the plaintiffs’ – Greater Hells Canyon Council and Oregon Wild – […]
Court Upholds Forest Service Emergency Response Authority
Decision by Eastern Washington District Court Judge Rice upholding the Forest Service’s use of emergency response authority for the Wolverine Fire.
BLM Streamlining Planning & NEPA Input
AFRC’s Comments to BLM’s Request for Input on Streamlining Planning & NEPA
Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument Challenge
On March 10, 2017, AFRC filed its legal challenge to the unlawful expansion of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument.
O&C Litigation Complaint
AFRC, the Carpenters Industrial Council, Douglas Timber Operators, and six timber products companies filed a lawsuit in Washington DC August 5 challenging the BLM’s adoption of the Western Oregon Resources Management Plans because they violate the O&C Act’s requirements to manage the lands for permanent sustained yield timber production.
AFRC Asks Supreme Court to Take Up Case on Forest Plan Consultation
AFRC and its allies recently filed an amicus brief in support of the Solicitor General’s petition for certiorari asking the US Supreme Court to decide whether Forests Plans are ongoing actions subject to a continuous requirement to initiate ESA consultation.
Court Allows Lost Creek-Boulder Creek Project
After contentious litigation, an Idaho judge has denied a request for a temporary restraining order of the Lost-Creek-Boulder Creek landscape restoration project on the Payette National Forest. The project aims to restore approximately 80,000 acres in the Forest using varied silvicultural treatments, including 20,000 acres of commercial timber harvest.
French Fire Project Decision
Decision on French Fire Project on the Sierra National Forest
Circuit Court Decision on Standing
D.C. Circuit Court Opinion on Standing