San Francisco, CA--A California Superior Court today issued a stinging ruling against the California Board of Forestry, invalidating a set of regulations that allowed logging corporations to weaken water quality protection in salmon-bearing streams throughout the state. The court issued the ruling in a lawsuit filed by the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) in July 2002, and finds the Board failed to follow proper procedures in adopting the regulations and that the substance of the regulations are contrary to law.

The controversial "Interim Watershed Addendum" (IWMA) regulations were written and introduced by the industry lobbyists, and allowed logging companies to weaken and eliminate protections for salmon and steelhead without public review or input. As summarized by the court:

"The record provides substantial evidence that the IWMA regulations will facilitate logging which lessens protection for watersheds with threatened and impaired values. The Board does not have the authority to lessen or fail to protect natural resources when adopting regulations. The IWMA regulations are further in conflict with the process for review of timber harvesting plans because they allow a pre-submission review and decision-making outside of the statutorily mandated public review process." (citations omitted).

NOAA Fisheries, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Regional Water Quality Control Boards, numerous scientific panels, and others have concluded that existing logging regulations are insufficient to protect salmon habitat, and that protections need to be strengthened instead of reduced. The court agreed with this point, stating that "the record establishes that the IWMA regulations will provide less protection than what is currently established, and what is currently established does not provide sufficient protection."

"This ruling should bring an important message to the Board. Californians are demanding genuine reforms that protect disappearing salmon populations. The Board must change its direction entirely and take immediate, concrete steps to improve water quality protection," Cynthia Elkins, EPIC's Program Director, stated.