The 26-page decision handed down late Monday by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court ruling that had upheld the project and rejected a lawsuit filed by the Utah Environmental Congress and the High Uintas Primitive Council.
The appeals court ruled that the Forest Service had failed to use the "best available science" in granting approval for the Trout Slope West project, which took in 18,500 acres in the Vernal Ranger District of the Ashley National Forest and had a projected yield of 9.2 million board feet of lumber.
"We're thrilled to have yet another victory that halts logging on this tremendous scale in high-elevation old-growth forests," said Kevin Mueller, executive director of the Utah Environmental Congress.
The court declined to rule on the other challenges in the lawsuit, including the impacts the project would have on water quality and the Colorado River cutthroat trout. But in ruling that the Forest Service had failed to use the best available science, the appeals court rejected the district court's approval of the timber project.
- Joe Baird
