The Associated Press
GRANTS PASS, Ore. — A federal appeals court has cleared the way for logging to resume in an Oregon old growth forest reserve as a tactic for reducing the threat of wildfire.
In a 2-to-1 decision by a three-judge panel, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals today (Friday) reversed a lower court ruling that had stopped the Five Buttes project on the Deschutes National Forest.
The appeals court found the project was within the limits of the Northwest Forest Plan, which set up a system of old growth forest reserves to protect habitat for spotted owls and salmon.
The ruling was a blow for conservation groups, which have long depended on the 9th Circuit to stop old growth logging.
