Lawsuit aims to stop two commercial logging projects in WMNF

An environmental group has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court to stop two commercial logging projects in the White Mountain National Forest, including the Peabody West Integrated Resources Project in Gorham.

The Environmental Advocacy Clinic at Vermont Law and Graduate School filed the lawsuit last Thursday on behalf of Standing Trees, a Vermont-based group that advocates for the protection and restoration of forests on public lands.

The suit challenges the U.S. Forest Service’s conclusion that the Peabody West and Tarleton Integrated Resources projects will have no significant impact. The finding approves nearly 3,000 acres of commercial logging between the two projects.

For the Peabody West project, the decision came after a four-year process that began in December 2019 and concluded with a final decision issued on February 7, 2024.

The project calls for the commercial logging of approximately 2,200 acres, which the Forest Service says is necessary to provide a sustainable yield of high-quality wood products and improve wildlife diversity. The Peabody West project would reconstruct approximately nine miles of existing, off-grid roads and expand a permanent wildlife opening to 19 acres.

The environmental assessment describes the Peabody property as primarily mature forest and one of the project’s goals is to increase the age diversity and habitat mix. It is estimated that the harvest, which would take place over several years, would generate 13 million board feet of forest products.

The project would also designate approximately 300 acres as a cross-country ski area with up to five skiable downhill trails, improve access to the Third Hole swimming area on the Peabody River off Highway 16, and designate six miles of mountain bike trails, including about four miles of new trail. Vegetation near the Androscoggin Ranger District Office on Route 16 would be thinned to improve visibility and line of sight.

“The project will advance the goals and objectives of the Forest Plan by providing high-quality wood products, diversifying wildlife habitat, and meeting other recreation and transportation management needs,” concludes the decision.

In its lawsuit, Standing Trees argues that the Peabody West project targets mature, roadless forest in the iconic Presidential Range, home to the Greater Gulf Roadless Area. The group said the Forest Service violated the National Environmental Review Act by failing to justify the need for commercial logging and failing to consider alternatives to meet that need. Standing Trees said the review did not examine the cumulative impacts of all logging projects on WMNF, including impacts on old-growth forests and endangered species.

The group also said the environmental assessment failed to protect the water quality of the Peabody River, which it said is a tributary of the Androscoggin River and could be classified as a Wild and Scenic River.

The Tarleton project, in the towns of Warren and Piermont, calls for the commercial development of 880 acres.

The lawsuit asks the court to overturn the decision on the two projects and ban permitted logging and road construction.

“The Forest Service has shown no interest in working with the public to improve any of these reckless logging projects. The Forest Service has had ample opportunity to engage and learn from local communities, respond to new presidential guidance, and adapt its plans to changing conditions. The public deserves better and we have no choice but to sue the agency,” said Zack Porter, executive director of Standing Trees.

Androscoggin District Ranger Josh Sjostrom said because the matter is now in litigation, the U.S. Forest Service is unable to comment on the lawsuit or answer questions about the projects .

The trial adds to local concerns regarding the management of vast areas of forest in the North of the Country.

“In the case of Standing Trees Inc., the plaintiff in this case, they are clearly against logging and are proposing a radicalized forest management strategy that prioritizes trees over humans,” the administrator said. of Coos County, Mark Brady.

He said the Coos County Commission will review the lawsuit to see if there is an impact on unincorporated land in the county.

Brady said the public, as well as the timber and tourism industries, cannot take for granted the access they currently enjoy to large tracts of working forests. Brady referenced Aurora Sustainable Lands’ new management plan for Connecticut’s headwater forests, which calls for reducing tree harvesting in order to capture carbon credits. Pittsburg officials worry about the loss of timber tax revenue and public access to recreation. The state, which holds a conservation easement on the land, rejected the project.

“This lawsuit and the recently submitted management plan by Aurora Lands for the Connecticut Lakes Headwaters property represent a fundamentally different way of managing forests that destroys the working relationship between all stakeholders (landowners, timber industry, recreational use) which has evolved over generations and has served New Hampshire and its citizens well. Additionally, this type of forest management raises legitimate concerns about forest health and New Hampshire does not want to be like California or Canada, where constant smoke from wildfires creates multiple health risks. It is simply inconsistent with the New Hampshire Way and will have significant negative impacts on our economy and way of life,” Brady said.

This article is shared by The Granite State News Collaborative partners. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.