Injunction denied in Angora burn area restoration

An injunction to halt fuel reduction work in the Angora Fire area was denied last month after a lawsuit was filed by two environmental organizations.
A three-person panel of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that an emergency injunction was not needed after a U.S. District Court judge in Sacramento, Garland Burrell, upheld the agency's environmental
analysis. The suit was brought on by Earth Island Institute and Center for Biological Diversity over the protection of a rare black-backed woodpecker.

The panel noted it would give the environmental groups until Oct. 3 to submit briefs that could be heard in November. The environmental groups say they plan to fight on because logging planned where the woodpecker lives goes against the 1982 National Forest Management Act.
“The black-backed woodpecker is one of the rarest bird species in the entire Sierra Nevada and the Forest Service is pushing it toward extinction with its post-fire logging program,” Institute Executive Director Chad Hanson told The Associated Press.
The thinning and removal of trees in half of the 3,100 acres that burned in June 2007 is designed to prompt regrowth of burned trees and significantly cut the threat of future fires, according to the Forest Service.
The ruling clears the way for activities aimed at restoring the ecosystem in the Angora Fire area to proceed. Work has begun to control harmful invasive plant species, improvements to the road and trail system, and mechanical and hand-thinning of dead and some live trees to reduce the future risk of wildfire and improve forest health. Planning and design for stream channel, wetland and meadow restoration projects continues, and some field work will begin next summer, according to a Forest Service press release.
"We are pleased that the district court ruled in favor of the Forest Service and that we can now begin to implement the plans we developed with our local community to return the Angora Fire area to a healthier state," said Nancy Gibson, Forest Supervisor following the first court decision. "Our team has worked diligently since the fire to develop a community vision for the Angora ecosystem and thoroughly analyze various options for achieving it."
The Angora Fire, caused by an abandoned illegal campfire, burned 3,100 acres, including 2,700 acres of National Forest lands, and destroyed 250 homes.
The Forest Service completed most short-term rehabilitation work in the first year after the fire, but decided to develop a comprehensive project to address past human impacts to the area that were affecting wildfire risk, forest health, and stream, meadow and wetland function, said the Forest Service.