County, cities commended for fighting Mission Brush

I would like to commend the Boundary County commissioners, City of Bonners Ferry and City of Moyie Springs for supporting the U.S. Forest Service as interveners on the Mission Brush projects in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in The Lands Council v. McNair No. 07-35000.

The Ninth Circuit Court ruled that judges should not act as a panel of scientists that choose among scientific studies and order the Forest Service to explain every possible scientific uncertainty.

The court emphasized that the National Forests are to be managed for multiple uses, not just for wildlife and are not to be “set aside for non-use.”

The court upheld the Forest Service conclusion that the forest has more than 10 percent old growth as required by the Forest Plan.

The court holds that Judge Lodge properly considered the loss to interveners of jobs and harm to the local economy and the risks from no action including catastrophic fire, insect infestation and disease.

Hopefully this decision will help end the judicial gridlock over implementation of forest health and fuel reduction projects on the National Forests. The management of our local national forest is critical for the viability of our local economy.

If the original injunction on the Mission Brush projects had not been appealed with the local community’s backing, it is highly unlikely that we would have the go ahead to proceed on harvesting these timber sales.

Appreciation is expressed again to our elected officials for realizing the significance of supporting this project.

Bob Blanford

Resource Manager

Moyie Springs operation

Idaho Forest Group LLC