Lawsuits halt logging

Sierra Pacific Industries has shuttered a plan to clear-cut a large swath in the Sierra Nevada.

The company withdrew its plans, which included cutting trees on more than 1,600 acres, in response to lawsuits by the Center for Biological Diversity, reported the Daily Journal.

CBD’s three lawsuits challenged the project on the grounds that the California Department of Forestry did not review the associated greenhouse-gas emissions, an omission the organization alleges violates the California Environmental Quality Act.

“Clear-cutting is an abysmal practice that should have been banned long ago due to its impacts on wildlife and water quality,” CBD’s public lands Director Brendan Cummings said in a statement. “Now, in an era where all land-management decisions need to be fully carbon conscious, there is simply no excuse to continue to allow clear-cutting in California.”