ELR Citation: 55 ELR 20117
No(s). 1:24-cv-138-JL-TSM (D.N.H. Aug 20, 2025) (Laplante, J.)

A district court denied summary judgment for an environmental group in a challenge to the Forest Service's authorization of logging projects in White Mountain National Forest. The group argued the Service violated NEPA and the National Forest Management Act by failing to analyze alternatives, including a "no action" alternative, failing to take a "hard look" at environmental impacts, and failing to design the projects consistently with the forest plan. The court found the Service's analysis of current and future expected conditions of the project areas without any interventions, and its demonstration that the proposed interventions were necessary to bring the conditions into compliance with the forest plan, was sufficient documentation that it considered a no-action alternative. It further found the Service took a sufficiently hard look at impacts to water quality, the northern long-eared bat, scenic and recreational resources, and forest health, as well as cumulative impacts, and that the Service's EAs and supporting documentation showed its interpretation and application of forest plan standards were not arbitrary or capricious. The court granted summary judgment for the Service.