A federal judge has halted a logging project in the Kootenai National Forest, saying the federal government failed to correctly analyze the impacts to grizzly bears.
The Knotty Pine Project, a 10-year project that would have authorized 7,465 acres of prescribed burning and 2,593 acres of commercial harvest in the Cabinet-Yaak Mountains, has been in litigation since 2022, the Daily Montanan reports.
The Center for Biological Diversity led a coalition of environmental groups, including WildEarth Guardians and the Yaak Valley Forest Council, in suing the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, saying it could devastate the small group of grizzly bears that lives in the region due to increased roadwork.
U.S. District Court Judge Dana Christensen granted a preliminary injunction the following year, but issued his final ruling just last week.
“The management of roads is one of the most powerful tools available to balance the needs of people with those of bears,” Christensen wrote. “High road densities in low elevation habitats may result in grizzly bear avoidance or displacement from important spring habitat and high mortality risks.”
Grizzly bears have a small presence in the Cabinet-Yaak ecosystem, estimated between 45 and 50. The stated goal of the federal government’s recovery plan for grizzlies in the ecosystem is 100, according to court documents. The latest report of the Cabinet-Yaak grizzly population states a goal of “zero human-caused mortality,” though it acknowledges this might not be realized due to the likelihood of human-bear conflicts.
The Knotty Pine Project area consists of just more than 56,000 acres in Lincoln County, in the Three Rivers Ranger District. The industrial timber harvest and fuel treatments, which include “pre-commercial” thinning, would total just less than 10,000 acres, including authorization of prescribed burns totaling 7,465 acres.
The project would have also created 3.76 miles of “undetermined road,” 1.2 miles of temporary road construction, 4 miles of road storage and 35 miles of road maintenance.
The substantial amount of roadwork was at the heart of the environmental groups’ lawsuit, as studies show roads displace bears and can shrink what is considered viable habitat.
Christensen acknowledged the impact that roads have on grizzly bear habitat, citing documents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
“Such displacement can have multi-generational effects: 'Females who have learned to avoid roads may also teach their cubs to avoid roads. In this way, learned avoidance behavior can persist for several generations of bears before they again utilize habitat associated with closed roads',” he wrote.
The plaintiffs had argued that the federal government did not adequately conduct its analysis, mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act, and violated the Endangered Species Act when considering the impact of roads on grizzly habitat. They also argued that a number of roads that should be closed to the public are accessed anyway, and these illegal uses should be taken into consideration for the project area’s overall impact.
The Forest Service argued it had “noted that the use of closed roads is illegal,” was monitoring illegal use, and tracked when gates or barriers needed repairing, but Christensen said that such considerations didn’t go far enough.
“By excluding illegal roads, FWS makes an ‘unsupported assumption’ that illegal roads have no effect on grizzly bears. Such an assumption fails to ‘err on the side of the bear,’” Christensen said.
“For too long the Forest Service has ignored illegal off-road vehicle use, the presence of unauthorized roads and the harm they inflict on grizzly bears,” Adam Rissien, rewilding manager with WildEarth Guardians, said in a press release. “This ruling affirms that the Forest Service must account for illegal road use, including on ‘zombie roads,’ which the agency pretends don’t exist until they come back to life for logging projects.”
Christensen ruled in favor of the environmental groups in most of their claims that the federal government violated NEPA by not fully accounting for illegal road use and the effects on grizzly bears for the total scope of the project.
However, on a claim that the Forest Service did not analyze the impact of pre-commercial thinning activities on grizzlies, Christensen sided with the federal government and said the impacts were “thoroughly considered.”
“This decision is a critical win for the Cabinet-Yaak’s struggling grizzly bears,” Kristine Akland, Northern Rockies director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement. “For decades ,federal agencies have turned a blind eye while roads carved up bear country, and grizzly bears have paid the price. The court’s ruling sends a clear message that the government can’t ignore facts or the law when it comes to protecting grizzlies.”
Daily Montanan is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Daily Montanan maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Darrell Ehrlick for questions: info@dailymontanan.com.
