Federal judge stops Flathead forest plan because it doesn’t protect grizzly bears
Federal Judge Dana Christensen has stopped the Flathead National Forest from implementing its forest plan for the 2.4 million acres because the U.S. Forest Service ignored the impact of roads on the endangered grizzly bear and bull trout populations.
In his decision, which mostly upheld federal magistrate Kathleen DeSoto’s initial ruling, he said that the Forest Service continues to ignore the impacts of closed roads and unauthorized motor vehicle use on roads in grizzly bear and bull trout habit.
The case is similar to many which have centered on grizzly bears and roads recently. The U.S. Forest Service, which doesn’t comment on pending litigation as a matter of policy, continues to disregard or ignore roads that have existed, but are no longer used, according to the order from the U.S. District Court.
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