ELR Citation: 50 ELR 20183
No(s). 19-17479 (9th Cir. Aug 3, 2020)

The Ninth Circuit reversed, 2-1, a lower court ruling denying a request to preliminarily enjoin a logging project in the Mendocino National Forest. An environmental group argued the Forest Service improperly determined that the project qualified for a categorical exclusion (CE) for road repair and maintenance, and sought to have the project enjoined. The district court agreed with the Forest Service, holding that the project qualified for the CE and denying the preliminary injunction. On appeal, the court found that a CE of such limited scope could not reasonably be interpreted to authorize this project, which allowed for commercial logging of large trees up to 200 feet away from either side of hundreds of miles of Forest Service roads, and thus that the Service must prepare either an EA or an EIS. It therefore reversed the district court's denial of the preliminary injunction and remanded for further proceedings.