District Court faults Forest Service analysis
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Forest Service violated the Endangered Species Act by relying on a faulty analysis during the creation of the controversial Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Plan. The court’s decision effectively prohibits the Forest Service from relying on the plan.
The ruling comes after the Southern Environmental Law Center, on behalf of Defenders of Wildlife, MountainTrue, Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity, sued the Forest Service and Fish and Wildlife Service in April 2024. The lawsuit challenged the revised Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Plan, which was finalized in 2023 and guides the long-term future of two of the nation’s most popular public lands.
The plan proposed a massive increase in logging in the forests and put sensitive areas, including habitat for endangered forest bats, on the chopping block. But the federal agencies failed to show that these rare and federally protected bats — the northern long-eared bat, Indiana bat, Virginia big-eared bat, and gray bat — could withstand harmful logging.
The court ruled the agencies’ analysis — called a biological opinion — was clearly flawed, writing in its decision that the agencies’ conclusions were “unexplained,” “unsupported,” “deficient,” and “of almost no value.” The court also found that since the biological opinion is unlawful, that “void[s] [the] authority for the Revised Forest Plan” itself.
“The court’s decision confirms that the Forest Service unlawfully cut corners in its planning process, resulting in a Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Plan that pushed rare and engendered wildlife even closer to the brink of extinction. With the agencies’ reckless analysis thrown out, we can look toward creating a better, more protective Forest Plan that prioritizes the health of the Nantahala and Pisgah national forests and all the animals and communities that rely on them,” SELC staff attorney Spencer Scheidt said. “This ruling is a major victory for these incredible forests and sends a clear message that federal agencies are required to follow the law.”
“This is a massive victory for wildlife — and for the millions of people who visit these cherished forests,” said Will Harlan, southeast director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “The Forest Service’s aggressive and illegal logging plans completely ignored science and the public, who overwhelmingly support protecting these forests. This ruling is a dagger to the destructive forest plan and a lifeline for wildlife and communities. The Pisgah and Nantahala are two of the most popular and biologically diverse forests in the country, and they are worth far more standing than cut down.”
