BOZEMAN — A Montana judge has rejected an attempt to block a timber sale southeast of Bozeman.
The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports that Gallatin County District Judge Rienne McElyea signed an order Wednesday afternoon denying Save Our Gallatin Front’s request for an injunction to stop the state’s auction of the Limestone West Timber Sale.
The group filed a lawsuit after the Montana Land Board decided to move forward with the project, leaving open the option for opponents to bid on a 25-year deferral of logging.
The project involves 443 acres (179 hectares) of timber on state trust lands west of Mount Ellis.
Opponents of the project contend that it will harm important wildlife habitat and that the state’s terms for the auction were unfair.