EPIC led a coalition of 19 conservation, fishing and Native American organizations to challenge the California Department of Forestry's approval of logging operations and the resulting impacts to coho salmon, a species listed under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). We alleged that logging carried out pursuant to the California Forest Practice Rules causes harm to coho salmon and that authorization of logging under these rules results in illegal "take" under the ESA. The complaint was filed on March 1, 2000, and we filed a motion for a preliminary injunction on May 19, 2000 with supporting declarations from numerous world-renowned scientists and the National Marine Fisheries Service. The motion was denied. The intervenors in the case, the California Forestry Association and the American Forest and Paper Association, filed a motion for summary judgment on December 1, 2000. The judge ruled in favor of the motion without reaching the merits of the case, stating that our case was not "ripe" for review, and dismissed the lawsuit on January 24, 2001.
EPIC was represented in this case by Dan Rohlf of the Pacific Environmental Advocacy Center at Lewis and Clark Law School, Sharon Duggan, Brendan Cummings, and Susan O'Neill.
See Motion for Preliminary Injunction
See Declaration from Joe Blum, National Marine Fisheries Service
See Declaration from Dr. Peter Moyle, fisheries biologist
See Declaration from Dr. Terry Roelofs, fisheries biologist
See Declaration from Dr. Robert Curry, geologist
