Judge rules in favor of the little things that run the world
Dec 18, 2009
The ninth circuit court today ruled in favor of upholding "look before you log" old-growth protections put in place under the Northwest Forest Plan. The ruling strikes down the last surviving attempt by the Bush administration's five point strategy to boost logging in the region's old-growth forests.
An old-growth forest is the sum of all its parts. The Larch Mountain salamander is one of the species agencies are required to find and record in old forests.
A federal judge has ruled in favor of a "Survey and Manage" rule requiring that managers of federal forests look for hundreds of rare old-growth associated species before cutting down big trees. Suits to save the rule protecting rare wildlife were advanced by Conservation Northwest and others.
Today's ruling effectively strikes down the last surviving piece of the Bush administration's strategy to boost logging in old-growth forests by undermining the Northwest Forest Plan, a compromise to the "spotted owl wars" negotiated by the Clinton administration.
Judge John C. Coughenour of a federal district court in Seattle has yet to issue relief for the decision, wanting to hear more from the government agencies and conservation groups before issuing an order.
Coughenour wrote a thoughtful opinion that among other things stresses the importance saving all the parts of an ecosystem - even those that are less charismatic. Quoting renowned scientist E.O. Wilson, he notes that unobtrusive species in forests like fungi and bryophytes are indeed "the little things that run the world."
