by Associated Press
HELENA, Mont. — A federal judge says he will continue to block a collaborative forest-management project that includes logging 2,038 acres because the U.S. Forest Service did not submit a proper response to his order to analyze its effects on lynx habitat.
U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy says in his Wednesday ruling he will not lift the injunction on the Colt Summit project until the Forest Service prepares a proper supplemental environmental assessment.
Forest Service officials had submitted a document that analyzes the project’s effects on lynx habitat, but it did not comply with Molloy’s order.
He says the document may be a useful analysis but it did not follow National Environmental Policy Act requirements.
Forest service officials had hoped to begin work to start this summer in the Lolo National Forest.
