Judges overturn Mission Brush ruling; project goes forward

A panel of three judges of the federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Dec. 28 voted unanimously to uphold a  unanimous 11 judge decision regarding the Mission Brush law suit brought by the Lands Council of Spokane, Wash.

This decision was in favor of the U.S. Forest Service and those who intervened on the Forest Service’s behalf including  Boundary County and the cities of Moyie Springs and Bonners Ferry.

Boundary County Commissioner Dan Dinning said  it cost the county $55,000 to defend the proposed timber sale. 

The battle has been ongoing since 2004, when the Forest Service first approved the project.

In the summer of 2008, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals  reversed its prior opinion to allow for the removal of dead and dying timber in the national forest.

The court ruled it had made errors earlier in a suit filed by the Lands Council and Wild West Institute against the Forest Service which sought an injunction to halti the Mission Brush Project in Boundary County.

The suit, originally filed in district court, contended the Forest Service failed to comply with the National Forest Management Act in approving the project, which included selective logging of 3,829 acres in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest.

The district court denied the injunction, but was initially overturned by the appeals court.

On Dec. 28, the court upheld and affirmed the en blanc decision of its earlier opinion.

This decision continues to give hope to those who want to end the judicial gridlock over implementation of forest health and fuel reduction projects on other national forests, said Dinning.

“It (the decision) upholds the huge nationwide precedent that has already been used to further other projects in other  national forests,” said Dinning. “This was of much importance, if it stood it would have shut down and stalled everything.”