Environmental groups file new lawsuit over forest grazing

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Environmentalists are continuing their legal battle against grazing in a national forest in south-central Oregon with a lawsuit over federal management of a 170,000-acre livestock allotment.

The Capital Press reports the complaint filed by Concerned Friends of the Winema and four other groups marks the fourth case in about a decade alleging violations of federal statutes in the Antelope allotment on the Fremont-Winema National Forest.

This lawsuit accuses the U.S. Forest Service of unlawfully approving a 10-year grazing permit for the allotment despite “irreparable harm” to the threatened Oregon spotted frog and wetland plants and mollusks.

A Forest Service spokesperson said the agency doesn’t comment on pending litigation and Capital Press was unable to reach a lawyer who has represented affected ranchers in the past.