HELENA — Montana is looking to support the U.S. Forest Service in fighting off a lawsuit challenging a wildfire mitigation project.
The Independent Record reports state Attorney General Tim Fox filed a request Monday to intervene in the litigation over the Ten Mile-South Helena Project.
The project calls for forest thinning, logging and burning on more than 27 square miles (71 square kilometers) in the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest.
Helena Hunters and Anglers and the Montana Wildlife Federation filed a lawsuit earlier this year over concerns about the impact of mechanized logging on wildlife.
The Alliance for the Wild Rockies and Native Ecosystems Council also filed a lawsuit, contending the federal agency erred in its environmental analysis for the project.
The lawsuits have been consolidated into one case.