Logging Group Sues to Open 3.5 Million Acres for Timber Harvest

A logging group and several counties across Washington, Oregon and California allege a federal wildlife agency overreached in designating 9.3 million acres of protected habitat for the endangered Northern Spotted Owl in a new lawsuit.

The American Forest Resource Council and the Association of O&C Counties challenged a Biden-era rule that withdrew vast areas of timber production exemptions from the Northwest Forest Plan, according to the lawsuit filed Monday in the US District Court for the District of Columbia.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service violated the Administrative Procedure Act and Endangered Species Act by failing to explain how the ...