ELR Citation: ELR 20238
No(s). 06-35662 (9th Cir. Nov 29, 2006)

The court upheld a lower court decision refusing to preliminarily enjoin the U.S. Forest Service's implementation of a "hazardous fuel reduction project" in the Bitterroot National Forest in Montana. The project entails the treatment of 4,938 acres of land within the forest. The group argued that the Service irreversibly and irretrievably committed resources in advance of a final decision by premarking trees for harvesting in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act. While the Service did indeed spend $208,000 before the issuance of the record of decision, such expenditure did not necessarily prejudice the final outcome. Similarly, the group was unlikely to succeed on its claim that the Service engaged in a "pattern and practice of selective inclusion and exclusion" of public collaboration in choosing the plan for the project. And although the group raised some valid concerns regarding the opinions of a soil scientist, many of the scientist's recommendations were incorporated into the final environmental impact statement and, therefore, the probability of success on this claim was low. Nor did the district court abuse its discretion in weighing the respective hardships.