9th Circuit won't re-hear Mission Brush Project

BONNERS FERRY - The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has denied a request from two environmental groups for a re-hearing on a logging project in Boundary County.

The decision means the removal of dead and dying timber from Idaho Panhandle National Forest will not be stopped.

In a one-sentence statement filed on Sept. 11, the judges with the court of appeals said they had been made aware of the Lands Council and Wild West Institute's request for a re-hearing on the Mission Brush project. None of the judges voted to hear it.

The environmental groups did so in reaction to the 9th Circuit Court's June decision to reverse its prior opinion, which was considered a landmark ruling for logging in national forests.

The court ruled it had made errors earlier, and paved the way for removing dead and dying timber. The ruling was due to a suit filed by the Lands Council and Wild West Institute against the U.S. Forest Service, seeking an injunction halting the Mission Brush project.

In essence, the Lands Council asked the court to act as a panel of scientists, which is not a proper role for a federal appellate court, according to the ruling.

After the June decision was announced, the only recourse for the Lands Council and Wild West Institute was to request a re-hearing.

The suit, originally filed in district court, contended the Forest Service failed to comply with the National Forest Management Act in approving the project. District court denied the injunction, but was initially overturned by the appeals court.

Boundary County, the cities of Bonners Ferry and Moyie Springs, Everhart Logging and Regehr Logging intervened in the suit on behalf of the Forest Service.