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Forest Plan lawsuit dismissed By Paul Fattig of the Mail Tribune A federal court judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by environmental groups regarding implementation of the survey and manage requirements in the Northwest Forest Plan. But the action taken by U.S. District Court Judge William Dwyer in Seattle late Friday afternoon doesn't immediately change the status of some 300 million board feet of federal timber sales he had placed on hold late in the summer -- including more than 40 million board feet of timber earmarked for logging in the Rogue River National Forest and the Medford District of the Bureau of Land Management. "Those sales are no longer enjoined but they are on hold until the terms of the settlement is reached," explained Rex Holloway, spokesman for the Forest Service's Northwest Region. "More surveying has to be done. Hopefully, that will be completed within next year." He was referring to last month's settlement agreed upon by the 13 environmental groups, including Ashland-based Headwaters, and the Forest Service, BLM and the Department of Justice. The original lawsuit was filed in 1998. The settlement -- and ensuing dismissal -- are an important step toward helping to protect the region's ecosystems, said Mort Mondale, founder of the Southern Oregon Forest Coalition. "Everybody I've spoken to within the environmental community is very pleased with it," he said. "The dismissal was expected as a byproduct of that agreement." "It's part of moving on, keeping everyone honest," added Richard Hart, staff ecologist for Headwaters. But Dave Hill, executive vice president of the Southern Oregon Timber Industries Association, was concerned the settlement would cause continued timber shortages for the industries. "It's not necessarily good in the long run -- it just prolongs the survey and manage issue," he said. "As far as the forest products industry is concerned, it doesn't free any of the tied-up sales. And when that occurs is anybody's guess." Hill says only one new federal timber sale is being released on local federal forests in the first six months of fiscal year 2000 which began Oct. 1. That includes the BLM's Medford District, and the Rogue River, Siskiyou and Winema national forests, he said. "With the timber sales already enjoined and the fact they are not freeing up any more sales (during those six months), this just prolongs everything for us," he said. But Holloway said the agreement should result in the availability of between 250 and 315 million board feet of timber by the fall of 2000. "There is still a lot of work ahead for us as far as the surveys go," he said. In addition, the agencies have released a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) on a proposal modifying the current survey and management requirements. Deadline for public comments is March 3. "We expect within the next year to streamline those requirements and make them a little more efficient," he said. In his earlier decision to issue a temporary injunction of the timber sales, Dwyer agreed with the plaintiffs that the Forest Service and the BLM had failed to conduct adequate surveys for 77 rare species as required by the 1994 forest plan. The law instructs the agencies to conduct individual surveys for each sensitive species. As part of his decision, Dwyer asked that the environmental groups and the agencies to settle the case and limit the impacts on the region's timber industry. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA