ELR Citation: ELR 20181
No(s). 10-35232 (9th Cir. Jun 28, 2010)

The Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision denying an environmental group's motion to preliminarily enjoin a timber sale in the Tongass National Forest. The district court did not abuse its discretion in holding that the group had a very low likelihood of succeeding on the merits of its NEPA claim. The Forest Service considered the impacts on the aquatic environment from open, stored, and decommissioned roads over the length of the project, and reasonably concluded that the impacts would be minor. The record likewise indicates that the Forest Service considered these impacts in the context of the existing, degraded conditions of the affected watersheds. The Forest Service also took a hard look at the potential impacts of the sale on wolves and deer. Nor did the lower court abuse its discretion in holding that the group had a low likelihood of success on its National Forest Management Act claims that the Forest Service failed to comply with the requirements of the Tongass Land and Resource Management Plan.