ELR Citation: ELR 20457
No(s). 4-72 Civil 598 (D. Minn. Apr 16, 1973)

Plaintiff Minnesota Public Interest Research Group (MPIRG) seeks and obtains a permanent injunction against logging activities in or contiguous to virgin forest areas of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA), part of the National Wilderness Preservation System, until the Forest Service prepares a new BWCA Management Plan with its attendant environmental impact statement. Dismissing the defenses of MPIRG's allege lack of standing to sue and laches, the court finds the Forest Service's actions relating to timber in the BWCA since January 1, 1970, have cumulatively amounted to a major federal action and, since they affected a wilderness area, they had a significant effect on the environment. The Forest Service's failure to prepare an impact statement on its actions during this period thus violated both NEPA and its own NEPA guidelines (q.v., at ELR 46058). The court defers until after the BWCA Management Plan has been completed the question of whether a specific section of the Wilderness Act of 1964 dealing with the BWCA actually requires that the BWCA be used for timber production. See also Izaak Walton League v. St. Clair, 3 ELR 20196; Guilbert, Wilderness Preservation I: A Recent Case and a Not-So-Recent Treaty, 3 ELR 50023 (May 1973) and Zaelke, Controlling Forest Service Discretion Under the Multiple Use Act, 3 ELR 50017 (May 1973).

Counsel for Plaintiff
Charles K. Dayton
Gerald L. Seck
Dayton, Seck & Herman
1926 Nicollet Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55403

Counsel for Government & Individual Defendants
Robert G. Renner U.S. Attorney
Neal J. Shapiro Asst. U.S. Attorney
596 U.S. Court House
Minneapolis MN 55401

Counsel for Defendants Boise Cascade Corporation, The Northwest Paper Company and Northern Forest Products, Ltd.
Curtis L. Roy
William J. Keppel
Dorsey, Marquart, Windhorst West & Halladay
2400 First National Bank Building
Minneapolis, MN 55402

Counsel for Defendants Consolidated Papers, Inc.
Joe A. Walters
Frank J. Walz
O'Connor, Green, Thomas, Walters & Kelly
845 Northwestern Bank Building
Minneapolis, MN 55402

Counsel for Defendant Kainz Logging Company
Ronald W. Walls
P.O. Box 194
Ely, MN 55731