Conservation groups reached an agreement with the Forest Service that will allow the agency to move forward with the controversial Courthouse Creek timber sale. The agreement reduces the size of the timber sale, removing logging from significant ecological areas and steep slopes in the headwaters of the French Broad River.
The agreement resolves an administrative appeal filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center on behalf of the Wilderness Society, Wild South and the Western North Carolina Alliance. The project attracted considerable public concern, reflected in the volume of comments submitted to the Forest Service. Under the agreement, those aspects of the project focusing on ecological restoration, habitat creation, and old growth designation remain intact.
“We are pleased to find a way forward that protects the integrity of this special place,” said D.J. Gerken, senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center. “Today’s resolution will provide lasting benefits for this ecologically, recreationally, and culturally significant area.”
One of the most controversial aspects of the project involved logging in a state-recognized Significant Natural Heritage Area, widely recognized to be important habitat for rare plant and animal species. As a result of changes to the project under this agreement, logging previously planned for those areas will be significantly reduced.
“I could go on about how important the area is ecologically. The bottom line is people in Western North Carolina understand that some places are just too special to log and develop” said Josh Kelly, biologist with the Western North Carolina Alliance. “We’ve been asking the Forest Service to leave this area alone for years. Today we made important steps towards protecting this Significant Natural Heritage Area.”
From The High Country Press: https://www.hcpress.com/news/conservation-groups-reach-agreement-with-forest-service-on-logging-at-courthouse-creek.html