IN RE BIG THORNE PROJECT

Nos. 15-35232, 15-35233, 15-35244.

857 F.3d 968 (2017)

IN RE BIG THORNE PROJECT and 2008 Tongass Forest Plan, Southeast Alaska Conservation Council; Alaska Wilderness League; Sierra Club; National Audubon Society; Natural Resources Defense Council, Plaintiffs-Appellants, and Cascadia Wildlands; Greater Southeast Alaska Conservation Community; Greenpeace; Center for Biological Diversity; the Boat Company, Plaintiffs, v. United States Forest Service; United States Department of Agriculture; Beth Pendleton, in her official capacity as United States Forest Service Region 10 Regional Forester; Forrest Cole, in his official capacity as Forest Supervisor for the Tongass National Forest; Thomas Tidwell, in his official capacity as Chief of the United States Forest Service, Defendants-Appellees, State of Alaska; Alaska Forest Association, Inc.; Southeast Conference; Viking Lumber Company, Inc.; City of Craig; Icy Straits Lumber Co. Inc.; Southeast Stevedoring Corporation; Alaska Electric Light and Power Company; Alaska Power & Telephone; Alaska Marine Lines, Inc.; Alaska Miners Association; First Things First Foundation; Samson Tug and Barge Company, Inc.; Tyler Rental, Inc.; Resource Development Council of Alaska, Inc.; Southeast Roadbuilders, Inc.; Boyer Towing, Inc.; City of Ketchikan; Ketchikan Gateway Borough; City and Borough of Wrangell; Federal Forest Resource Coalition; First Bank, Intervenor-Defendants Appellees. In re Big Thorne Project and 2008 Tongass Forest Plan, Southeast Alaska Conservation Council; Alaska Wilderness League; Sierra Club; National Audubon Society; Natural Resources Defense Council, Plaintiffs, and Cascadia Wildlands; Greater Southeast Alaska Conservation Community; Greenpeace; Center for Biological Diversity; the Boat Company, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. United States Forest Service; United States Department of Agriculture; Beth Pendleton, in her official capacity as United States Forest Service Region 10 Regional Forester; Forrest Cole, in his official capacity as Forest Supervisor for the Tongass National Forest; Thomas Tidwell, in his official capacity as Chief of the United States Forest Service, Defendants-Appellees, State of Alaska; Alaska Forest Association, Inc.; Southeast Conference; Viking Lumber Company, Inc.; City of Craig; Icy Straits Lumber Co. Inc.; Southeast Stevedoring Corporation; Alaska Electric Light and Power Company; Alaska Power & Telephone; Alaska Marine Lines, Inc.; Alaska Miners Association; First Things First Foundation; Samson Tug and Barge Company, Inc.; Tyler Rental, Inc.; Resource Development Council of Alaska, Inc.; Southeast Roadbuilders, Inc.; Boyer Towing, Inc.; City of Ketchikan; Ketchikan Gateway Borough; City and Borough of Wrangell; Federal Forest Resource Coalition; First Bank, Intervenor-Defendants-Appellees. In re Big Thorne Project and 2008 Tongass Forest Plan, Southeast Alaska Conservation Council; Alaska Wilderness League; Sierra Club; Natural Resources Defense Council, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. United States Forest Service; United States Department of Agriculture; Beth Pendleton, in her official capacity as United States Forest Service Region 10 Regional Forester; Forrest Cole, in his official capacity as Forest Supervisor for the Tongass National Forest; Thomas Tidwell, in his official capacity as Chief of the United States Forest Service, Defendants-Appellees, State of Alaska; Alaska Forest Association, Inc.; Southeast Conference; Viking Lumber Company, Inc.; City of Craig; Icy Straits Lumber Co. Inc.; Southeast Stevedoring Corporation; Alaska Electric Light and Power Company; Alaska Power & Telephone; Alaska Marine Lines, Inc.; Alaska Miners Association; First Things First Foundation; Samson Tug and Barge Company, Inc.; Tyler Rental, Inc.; Resource Development Council of Alaska, Inc.; Southeast Roadbuilders, Inc.; Boyer Towing, Inc.; City of Ketchikan; Ketchikan Gateway Borough; City and Borough of Wrangell; Federal Forest Resource Coalition; First Bank, Intervenor-Defendants-Appellees.

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.

Filed May 23, 2017.


Attorney(s) appearing for the Case

Holly Anne Harris (argued), Thomas S. Waldo , and Eric P. Jorgensen , Earthjustice, Juneau, Alaska, for Plaintiffs-Appellants/Plaintiffs.

Christopher Winter (argued), Ralph Bloemers , and Oliver Stiefel , Crag Law Center, Portland, Oregon; Gabriel Scott , Cordova, Alaska; for Plaintiffs/Plaintiffs-Appellants.

Allen M. Brabender (argued), Emily Polachek , and David Glazer , Attorneys; John C. Cruden , Assistant Attorney General; Environment & Natural Resources Division, United States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.; James Ustasiewski and Kate Baldridge , Office of General Counsel, United States Department of Agriculture; for Defendants-Appellees.

Richard Goeken (argued), Smith Currie & Hancock LLP, Washington, D.C.; Thomas E. Lenhart (argued), Senior Assistant Attorney General; Craig W. Richards , Attorney General; Office of the Attorney General, Juneau, Alaska; Julie A. Weis , Haglund Kelley LLP, Portland, Oregon; James F. Clark , Law Offices of James F. Clark, Juneau, Alaska; Steven W. Silver , Robertson Monagle and Eastaugh, Reston, Virginia; for Intervenor-Defendants-Appellees.

Dissent by Judge Gould.


OPINION

Big Thorne is a logging project in Alaska's Tongass National Forest. The United States Forest Service approved the logging to help revive the lackluster economy of southeastern Alaska. But the project has been met with howls of protest from the plaintiffs in this case, who claim that Big Thorne unlawfully...

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