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Developments in Lawsuit to Halt Logging in Jackson State Forest |
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Agrees to Logging Halt in Jackson State Forest.
March 20, 2002, Ukiah. The California Department of Forestry has agreed to halt all logging in Jackson State Forest until a new management plan and Environmental Impact Report (EIR) are approved. This is the key provision of an agreement settling a lawsuit against the California Department of Forestry (CDF) and the California Board of Forestry filed by the Campaign to Restore Jackson State Redwood Forest in June 2000. The settlement follows a Preliminary Injunction issued in May 2001 that prohibited CDF from approving any new timber operations in Jackson State Forest. Details. New lawsuit filed against Board of Forestry. January 3, 2002, Ukiah. The Campaign filed a new lawsuit in Mendocino County Superior Court against the California Board of Forestry. The new lawsuit follows a suit filed in June 2000 that resulted in a preliminary injunction that halted logging in Jackson State Forest. Details. Attempt to Evade the Court July 11, 2001, San Bernadino. The Board
of Forestry, acting on a request from the California Department of Forestry
(CDF) amended its policies to remove the requirement that operations on
state forests be conducted under a "current" management plan. This
amendment eliminated the the primary foundation for the
issuance by the Mendocino Superior Court of an injunction prohibiting new
logging in Jackson State Forest. CDF has now filed a motion to
dismiss the injunction on the grounds that "it can no longer be said that
there is a 'violation' of Board policy in not maintaining the management
plan ... 'current' simply because that policy no longer exists." Preliminary Injunction Against CDF May 18, 2001, Ukiah. In a strongly worded decision, the Superior Court of Mendocino County today issued a Preliminary Injunction that stops the California Department of Forestry (CDF) from proceeding with two pending timber sales in Jackson State Forest. The sales would have logged 900 acres of old second-growth redwood in Brandon Gulch and an adjacent area in the 50,000-acre state-owned redwood forest in Mendocino County, California. In his decision, Judge Richard Henderson concurred with the allegations of the Campaign to Restore Jackson State Redwood Forest. In its suit, the Campaign argued that California Board of Forestry regulations require that logging in state forests be done under a current management plan. Jackson Forest’s management plan was last revised in 1983 and had only a ten-year planning horizon. In his decision, Judge Henderson wrote, "The … issues are twofold: must CDF comply with an approved management plan and, if so, must that plan be current? The answers to both questions is "yes." Henderson further found that, "… it appears that the June 7, 1984 plan is not current… Even a casual review of the Plan reveals that the conditions on which it was developed eighteen years ago have changed dramatically." For more details, see the Campaign Press Release on the Preliminary Injunction.. See Judge Henderson's decision. Hearing on request for a preliminary injunction On May 4, 2001, the Superior Court of Mendocino County heard the Campaign's request for a Preliminary Injunction (PI) to prevent CDF from logging two pending timber sales. The judge took the request under advisement and promised a ruling within two weeks. The Temporary Restraining order issued April 26 was continued in force until the ruling. See the PI brief, which responds to CDF's arguments and extends those in the TRO brief (see below). Temporary Restraining Order issued On April 26, 2001 the Superior Court of Mendocino County issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) to prevent CDF from logging these same two sales until the PI request was decided. More about the TRO. The TRO brief Suit Amended On December 20, 2000, the Campaign followed up an earlier suit with a related action to prevent logging in Brandon Gulch, one of the most beautiful areas in Jackson State Forest. More about the suit. See Brandon Gulch. Campaign asks court to halt logging On June 14, 2000 the Campaign filed suit in Mendocino County Superior Court to halt logging in Jackson Demonstration State Forest. The suit charges that the California Department of Forestry (CDF) has failed to meet the legal requirements to keep its management plan "current" and to conduct logging operations in Jackson Forest in accordance with a "current management plan." CDF, which operates Jackson State Forest, last updated the management plan in 1983. By its own terms, the 1983 plan was to have "a major review at the midpoint of its effective period (1987), and be completely revised in 1992." Thus, for the past eight years, CDF has been illegally conducting logging operations without a current management plan. The suit asks the court to rule that current operations are illegal and, in the event CDF approves new logging plans, to issue an injunction barring CDF from carrying them out until a new management plan is approved. Further information and background on the suit:
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