Judge Junks Washington State Logging Plan

A Washington state judge has reportedly rejected a controversial plan to increase logging in state-owned forests.

Judge Sharon Armstrong ruled Tuesday the Washington Department of Natural Resources didn’t properly evaluate the impact on spotted owls and threatened salmon, and did not fully consider less-intrusive logging practices, the Seattle Times reported Wednesday.

Armstrong’s decision, issued by e-mail, blocks implementation of the plan that called for a 30-percent increase in the amount of timber cut on state lands in western Washington during the next 10 years.

The proposal called for logging nearly 600 million board feet each year, well above the average 458 million board feet logged between 1995 and 2003.

Environmentalists opposed the plan because it allows more logging in environmentally sensitive areas and rolls back previously enacted environmental restrictions, the Times said.

Four environmental groups filed the legal action opposing the plan.