TROUT SLOPE WEST LAWSUIT

We joined with the Utah Environmental Council to file a lawsuit against the Ashley National Forest (ANF) to stop the massive Trout Slope West timber sale (see LYNX, 4/04, 8/04.) Located near the ridgeline of the eastern Uinta Mountains, this 9.2 million board foot timber sale would remove the last of the important old growth forest that is left in that heavily fragmented area.

The Ashley National Forest admits the area is highly fragmented and that a “patchwork of clear- cuts dominates much of the Trout Slope landscape.” This timber sale focuses on both removal and further isolating much of the remaining old growth forest patches. Instead of restoring this ecosystem, the Ashley insists on adding insult to injury by further altering a forest system teetering on the edge.