Forest lawsuits high in region
Montana groups top in nation for fighting wildfire reduction projects
Only one out of 50 U.S. Forest Service projects to reduce wildfire risk gets challenged in court nationwide, but in the region including Montana environmental groups sue at the highest rate in the nation, a new government report says.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office found that nationwide 2 percent of fuel reduction projects drew lawsuits filed by environmentalists or other groups, allowing 99 percent of the acreage targeted to move forward. However, the rate was far higher at 8 percent in Forest Service Region 1, which covers Montana, which made it the most prone to lawsuits to stop logging, controlled burning or other efforts to reduce wildfire risk.
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