WildEarth Guardians News:
SANTA FE — WildEarth Guardians, the Santa Fe Forest Coalition, and the Forest Advocate today filed a notice of intent to sue the Forest Service over Endangered Species Act violations related to increases in logging approved under the Encino Vista Landscape Restoration Project and the Revised Forest Plan.
When the Forest Service finalized its 2022 Revised Forest Plan, it approved a 150% increase in commercial logging over the previous 1986 plan, including in areas identified as not suitable for timber production. Toward this end, the Encino Vista project authorized over 7,200 acres of commercial logging, including clearcutting in ponderosa pine forests and aggressively thinning habitat for the Mexican spotted owl and Jemez Mountains salamander. But despite the scope of the project, and its harmful effects on these imperiled species, the Forest Service didn’t fully analyze its environmental impacts, or even reveal the specifics of its logging plans.
“Logging the last big trees and building more roads wouldn’t protect communities from wildfire, stabilize the climate or benefit wildlife,” said Sam Hitt, President of the Santa Fe Forest Coalition. “It only helps Trump fulfill his promise to the timber industry of turning national forests into tree farms.”
The Forest Service further violated the Endangered Species Act by not formally consulting with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regarding the effects the project would have on the Mexican spotted owl. Logging large trees, up to 24 inches across, would be particularly damaging to the owl’s habitat. The agency also dismissed expert research showing that both Mexican spotted owls and Jemez mountain salamanders require more tree cover than what will remain after all the logging and burning. The project also threatens numerous sensitive species, including Northern goshawk and Pinyon jays.
“The agency never really explained when, where, or how it plans to log this area, or how that will impact spotted owls and salamanders,” said Erin Hogan, staff attorney with WildEarth Guardians. “Instead, the Forest Service wrote itself a blank check covering thousands of acres for years to come. That violates the Endangered Species Act.”
The Forest Service cites reducing wildfire risks and potential threats to nearby communities to justify logging and repeated burning across such a vast landscape. Yet, less than 4% of the project falls within the Wildland Urban Interface, and all the commercial logging will take place miles away in the backcountry.
“During the last quarter century (2000-2024), land management agency intentional burns ignited the majority of acres burned by wildfire in and from the Santa Fe National Forest,” stated Sarah Hyden, Director of The Forest Advocate. “Although the Forest Service plans widespread logging to reduce fire risk, it has failed to meaningfully acknowledge and evaluate the fire risk created by burning the large amounts of logging debris (slash) produced by this project.”
“Logging and burning the forest is not going to protect people from wildfire, and resources should be focused on creating defensible space around homes where structure fires actually start,” said Chris Smith, wildlife and wild places program director with WildEarth Guardians. “Logging will not prevent wildfires or keep homes from burning, but it will harm crucial fish and wildlife habitat.”