Groups sue U.S. Forest Service to stop unlawful logging project in Pisgah National Forest

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — The Southern Environmental Law Center, on behalf of the Center for Biological Diversity and MountainTrue, sued the U.S. Forest Service on Thursday after the agency refused to stop an unlawful logging operation in the Nolichucky River Gorge within the Pisgah National Forest.

Recently, crews began a salvage logging project near Poplar, N.C., in an area that is designated as a North Carolina Natural Heritage Natural Area, is home to rare plants, and sits along the Nolichucky River—a world-famous whitewater rafting destination. Logging in this area threatens to leave permanent scars on the landscape, pollute the Nolichucky River, and imperils the area’s incredible backcountry qualities.

Despite these significant risks, the Forest Service is plowing ahead with a logging project that violates federal law and ignores the agency’s own Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Plan. Under the Plan, this area is supposed to be managed as a backcountry preserve to protect old-growth forest, but conducting salvage logging operations undermines that designation. The agency’s decision to turn a blind eye to its own planning document is a clear violation of federal law. 

“The agency’s decision to plow ahead with this unlawful logging project shows a blatant disregard for its own Forest Plan, federal law, and the communities that rely on these forests,” SELC associate attorney Clara Derby said. “Even worse, the agency did this behind closed doors without even notifying the public. The Forest Service can’t pick and choose when it wants to follow the law, so we’re taking them to court.”

The Forest Service is required to notify the public about logging projects like this and must study the environmental impacts of the project. However, the agency is attempting to unlawfully sidestep these obligations under the guise of an emergency order, despite the fact that the emergency order expired long before this logging project was sold. The agency’s failure to publicly analyze the impact of this project is yet another violation of federal law.

“The Forest Service is breaking the law and the hearts of millions of Americans by logging illegally along the Nolichucky River,” said Will Harlan, Southeast Director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “The Forest Service tried to sneak this logging project past the public, but the local community has stepped up to save this beloved river and ancient forest.”

The conservation groups sent a letter to the Forest Service last week, notifying the agency that this salvage logging project violated several federal laws. However, the Forest Service failed to substantively respond to the groups’ concerns.

“The Forest Service has moved forward with a logging project that violates their own Forest Plan in one of the jewels of Pisgah National Forest. They are doing so under the guise of an expired emergency order while attempting to complete the project in secrecy, without performing their legal duty to inform the public, complete rare species surveys, or consult with other agencies,” Josh Kelly, Resilient Forests Program Director at MountainTrue, said. “We asked the Forest Service for specifics about the project, and they refused, while also providing false information. We feel we have no other recourse but to sue to protect the outstanding qualities of the Nolichucky Gorge.”

The lawsuit is filed in the Western District of North Carolina. The groups are asking the court to immediately halt the logging operation and prevent additional logging at the site until the Forest Service complies with federal law.