A federal appeals court has sided with environmental groups over logging private land that was once part of the Elliott State Forest.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday affirmed a 2022 district court ruling that logging mature and old-growth trees on the 355-acre parcel would violate the Endangered Species Act because logging would harm the marbled murrelet.
This opinion means timber companies can no longer pursue plans to log the site’s large, old trees that these seabirds need for nesting.
Environmental groups called the decision a major victory for protecting vulnerable species in privately owned forests.