ELR Citation: ELR 20474
No(s). 89-35350 (9th Cir. Feb 7, 1990)

The court holds that a 1988 congressional continuing budget resolution bars a site-specific challenge to a Forest Service timber sale that allegedly violates the National Environmental Policy Act by failing to address new information about old growth forest ecosystems. Section 314 of the 1988 continuing budget resolution bars court challenges to existing forest management plans on the sole basis that the plan in its entirety is outdated. On its face, this site-specific suit is not such a challenge. However, if successful, the suit would allow sale-by-sale challenges of the entire forest management plan for failure to consider new information. Such challenges would amount to an attack on the entire plan as outdated. While the statute suffers from some want of clarity, the court concludes that Congress did not intend this type of litigation.

[The district court's decision is published at 19 ELR 21177.]

Counsel for Plaintiff-Appellant
Victor M. Sher, Todd D. True, Corrie J. Yackulic
Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, Inc.
216 First Ave. S., Ste. 330, Seattle WA 98104
(206) 343-7340

Counsel for Defendants-Appellees
Thomas C. Lee, Ass't U.S. Attorney
312 U.S. Courthouse, 620 SW Main St., Portland OR 97205
(503) 221-2101

Robert L. Klarquist, Martin W. Matzen
Land and Natural Resources Division
U.S. Department of Justice, Washington DC 20530
(202) 633-2731

Before Schroeder and Pregerson, JJ.