This is historical material, "frozen in time."
The web site is no longer updated and links to external web sites and some internal pages will not work.
Closing Legal Logjams
Years of frustrating legal logjams are coming to an end
In June, 1994, just two months after the plan’s Record of Decision was adopted,
federal courts dropped injunctions banning timber harvest from federal lands. For
the first time in three years, timber sales in the region of the northern spotted owl
could be offered and harvested.
In December, 1994, six different lawsuits from representatives of the timber
industry and environmental groups challenged the plan on 96 counts. The plan
won on each and every count.
Since that positive decision, to date there have been three other decisions on the
legality of the plan, and the plan won all three. This has allowed 30 timber sales,
and the region, to move forward...putting an end to gridlock.
The plan’s solid legal and scientific foundation is breaking gridlock by preventing
lawsuits in the first place. For instance, many groups who originally challenged the
plan chose not to appeal, and others withdrew their challenges to timber sales after
examining the ecosystem protections built into the plan.