Federal judge blocks 3 Oregon timber sales and strikes down 'loophole' [View all]

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Yahoo! News/Salem Statesman Journal

Thu, January 15, 2026 at 7:02 PM EST


A federal judge vacated approvals for three major logging projects in Oregon and ruled that the U.S. Forest Service could not use a so-called “logging loophole” to approve large-scale timber projects in a decision filed Jan. 13.

U.S. District Court Judge Michael McShane said the Forest Service unlawfully used what’s known as a categorical exclusion to approve three timber projects totaling 29,000 acres in Fremont-Winema National Forest.

The case stems from 2021, when the Forest Service sought to use the exclusion, known as a CE-6, to bypass more stringent environmental laws and approve a project they said was aimed at improving forest health and mitigating wildfires. Conservation groups have increasingly said the Forest Service was using CE-6, under the guise of wildfire prevention, to avoid more detailed study of logging projects that would normally require going through a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process.

McShane ruled that the Forest Service could not rely on the CE-6 going forward for timber projects across all national forests. He vacated the approval of the Baby Bear, Bear Wallow and South Warner projects.

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/federal-judge-blocks-3-oregon-000232962.html

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Link to ORDER (PDF) - https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/fremont-winema-logging-order.pdf

REFERENCES

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143123943
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143009057
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143170351
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143413613
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143527694