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Court Upholds Decision Blocking Custer-Gallatin Logging Projects

Court said the agency didn't adequately analyze how the project could impact the lynx

By Dillon Tabish

HELENA — A federal appeals court has upheld a decision blocking two Montana logging projects to protect the Canada lynx.

The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a U.S. District Court decision that stopped the Forest Service’s plan to log in the Custer Gallatin National Forest. The court said the agency didn’t adequately analyze how the project could impact the lynx.

The environmentalist group Alliance for the Wild Rockies sued over the logging proposal in 2012. The Ninth Circuit waited until the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to rule on a separate Canada lynx case before handing down its decision.

Mike Garrity, executive director of the Alliance, called the case a win for his organization and for the lynx.

The U.S. Forest Service didn’t respond to requests for comment.