More KS Wild accomplishments...

Gerald and Buff Corsi © California Academy of Sciences

Wolverine Gets a Voice - A breakthrough in the effort to save one of the rarest wildlife species in the lower-48, in September 2006, a federal judge overturned the Bush Administration's refusal to consider protections for the wolverine.  The decision enables an Endangered Species Act review of the elusive and wild wolverine. The wolverine is a bear cub-sized forest predator that persists in small numbers in the last remaining big wilderness areas of the lower-48 states.  The decision by the U.S. District Court for Montana requires the Fish and Wildlife Service to conduct a full status review of the wolverine and determine if the species should be listed as threatened or endangered.  Listing would trigger new legal protections for the wolverine. Thanks to Tim Preso of Earthjustice for pursuing this case on behalf of KS Wild, Defenders of Wildlife, Friends of the Clearwater and Conservation Northwest.

KS Wild Protects Wild Rivers – On July 14, 2006, a federal district court magistrate sided with KS Wild, ruling that the Klamath National Forest’s Meteor Timber on the Wild and Scenic Salmon River was illegal. This proposed timber sale would have logged over 700 acres of old-growth forest and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service-designated critical northern spotted owl habitat in a Key Watershed for salmon. Exhaustive photo-documentation and ground-truthing by KS Wild staff and volunteers resulted in proof that, while the Forest Service claimed this was a thinning project, the mark clearly showed that large old-growth trees would be logged, thereby likely exceeding the amount of sediment allowed in the river.

Standing Up for Clean Water – In May 2006, KS Wild successfully forced a settlement with a regional lumber manufacturer, requiring the company to comply with Clean Water Act reporting requirements and discharge limits at its lumber mills. Due to the details of the settlement, we are unable to publicly release the company’s name.

Federal Court Protects Watersheds – In March 2006, a federal district court magistrate sided with KS Wild and others, ruling that the Biological Opinion that justified the Bush administration’s scrapping of the Northwest Forest Plan’s Aquatic Conservation Strategy violated the Administrative Procedures Act. The ruling should aid in providing healthy watersheds for threatened and endangered aquatic species.

KS Wild successfully worked with the Rogue River National Forest to remove old-growth units from the Big Butte Timber Sale while proceeding with thinning units in previously logged stands (pictured here).

Forest Service Backs Off on Old-growth Logging in Medford’s Watershed – In early 2006, KS Wild successfully pressured the Rogue River National Forest to drop its plans to log thousands of acres of old-growth forests and build 11 miles of road for the Big Butte Timber Sale and instead thin previously logged white fir stands and decommission 32 miles of road.

Federal Court Protects Northwest Old-Growth – Dealing a blow to the Bush Administration’s efforts to undermine the Northwest Forest Plan, KS Wild helped reinstate the Plan’s common sense ‘look before you log’ directive. The Bush Administration tried to scrap the Plan’s Survey and Manage requirement as part of a timber industry settlement deal. In January 2006, the court halted 140 timber sales, due to the impacts on rare plants and animals. The return to tougher standards will help prevent future old-growth logging proposals, while KS Wild encourages responsible thinning and fuels reduction in the Rogue and Klamath Basins.

Roadless Rule Repeal – In October 2005, KS Wild joined conservation partners throughout the country to file suit over the Bush Administration’s repeal of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. The suit has been merged with a similar lawsuit filed by the governors of Oregon and New Mexico, and the Attorney General of California.

Six Rivers National Forest Hits Snag – In June 2005, KS Wild secured a Preliminary Injunction of the Sims Fire Salvage Sale on the Six Rivers National Forest in northern California. The Forest Service pushed to log ancient legacy trees on 169 acres, including 125 acres in an Old-Growth Reserve, 50 acres of which is spotted owl critical habitat. A U.S. District Court ruled that this “Healthy Forests” timber sale failed to assess impacts on spotted owls. The sale was withdrawn.

Court Halts Klamath Old Growth Logging – On May 5, 2005, a federal District Court ruled in favor of KS Wild and EPIC and halted the Westpoint old-growth timber sale in California's Klamath National Forest. This sale authorized logging on 1,026 acres, 2 miles of road construction and re-opening miles of closed roads. The sale would have harmed at-risk salmon and northern spotted owls while increasing the risk uncharacteristic wildfire. Three days after the decision, a new species, the Scott Bar salamander, was identified in the Westpoint area.

Burned forests are an important part of ecosystem health.

Klamath National Forest Backs Off – On April 18, 2005, the Klamath National Forest canceled the Whittler Timber Sale, which would have logged old growth in critical habitat for the northern spotted owl and cut into the East Trinity Roadless Area adjacent to the Trinity Alps and Russian Wilderness Areas. The Forest Service was aware that KS Wild was preparing to litigate. Previous litigation on the nearby Beaver sale established legal precedent in our favor.

KS Wild Protects Old-Growth Reserves – In November 2004, U.S. District Court Judge Ann Aiken held that the Medford BLM’s Timbered Rock salvage sales, in the Elk Creek watershed northeast of Medford, were "arbitrary, capricious and not otherwise in accordance with the law." This Old-Growth Reserve is in a "Key Watershed" for at-risk fish, and designated “critical” to the survival of the spotted owl.  The timber sale targeted the biggest trees while failing to thin dense young fiber plantations. The BLM appealed the decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in February 2005, and KS Wild briefed the high court in October 2005. We are awaiting a final decision that may well set important legal precedent.