Two groups sue Forest Service for Red Lodge timber plan they say will destroy lynx habitat

Two conservation groups are suing the United States Forest Service for what they say is a failure to follow several federal laws and jeopardizing lynx habitat.

Lynx remain on the endangered species list.

The two groups, Alliance for the Wild Rockies and Native Ecosystems Council, previously sued the Forest Service in 2015 for the Greater Red Lodge logging project and won when a federal judge said the forest service had violated the law by not considering the potential impacts to the lynx critical habitats.

Now in court filings, the groups allege the Forest Service has not only disregarded several key federal laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act, but has unlawfully redrawn maps of lynx habitat without review and comment for the purpose of logging more than 1,000 acres in the Custer Gallatin National Forest, directly adjacent to the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness Area.

The project area encompasses West Red Lodge Creek, Nichols Creek and Willow Creek, approximately 21,871 acres. The lawsuit said the area provides habitat for grizzly bears, moose, elk and lynx.

Read more: https://dailymontanan.com/2021/07/26/two-groups-sue-forest-service-for-red-lodge-timber-plan-they-say-will-destroy-lynx-habitat/

Now for the obligatory cat photo:


The sun was low and this Canadian Lynx moved through the shadows as he approached the shore of a frozen lake in southern Yukon. They are nocturnal animals and rarely seen. (Photo by Keith Williams/Flickr, CC-BY-SA 2.0)