United States Tenth Circuit

In an action alleging that defendants-Forest Service and its representatives violated federal law in approving a timber harvesting and prescribed burning project in a national forest in Utah, judgment for defendants is affirmed over claims that the Forest Service: 1) violated NEPA by failing to analyze the environmental consequences of applying magnesium chloride to a road; 2) violated NEPA by failing to consider the environmental impact of proposed firelines; 3) failed to adhere to its selected methodology for evaluating the presence of old growth forest and thus failed to satisfy old growth requirements set out in a forest plan; and 4) failed to ensure the viability of the goshawk, an old growth dependent species.

Appellate Information

• Decided 03/11/2008
• Published 03/12/2008

Judges

• SEYMOUR, Circuit Judge., Before HARTZ, SEYMOUR, and O'BRIEN, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Tenth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Sarah Tal, Salt Lake City, UT (Joel Ban, Salt Lake City, UT, on the opening brief), for Plaintiff-Appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Mark R. Haag, Attorney, Environment & Natural Resources Division, Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. (Sue Ellen Wooldridge, Assistant Attorney General, and Lisa E. Jones, Attorney, Environment & Natural Resources Division, Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.;   and Elise Foster, Office of General Counsel, United States Department of Agriculture, Ogden, UT, with him on the brief), for Defendants-Appellees.