California Fire Agency Beats Challenge to Redwood Timber Project

A timber harvesting project in Northern California can move ahead after a state appellate court upheld the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s approval of the plan.

Grassroots water protection group Friends of the Gualala River first challenged Cal Fire’s approval of a plan to log redwood trees in Sonoma County in 2016. The group sued Cal Fire under the California Environmental Quality Act and the Z’berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act of 1973. The latter requires timber operators on private land to submit a plan for approval before harvesting.

The Sonoma County Superior Court ordered the agency to set aside its ...