Environmental groups sue to halt post-fire logging in state forest

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Seven environmental groups have filed a lawsuit to halt post-fire logging in the Santiam State Forest.

The Statesman Journal reports the suit filed Wednesday seeks to stop the Oregon Department of Forestry from current logging and bar it from moving forward with timber sales and hazard tree removal across 3,000 acres of state forest burned by September fires around the Santiam Canyon.

The groups cited concerns over recreation, drinking water and forest health in asking a Multnomah Circuit Court judge to issue an injunction at an April 30 hearing.

If successful, all logging would stop until the case was decided. That delay is important, because burned, killed trees only remain viable for wood products for a short time.

Read more at: https://apnews.com/article/environment-lawsuits-forests-trees-forestry-3d661db02f35736699475cfb46ee45eb