Court Restores Environmental Reviews for Large-Scale Forest Logging

A US federal court has ruled that a decades-old rule allowing large logging projects to bypass environmental review was unlawful, restoring stronger safeguards for forests and wildlife.

“This decision forces agencies to prove what they claim and analyse what they authorise,” said Ralph Bloemers, Executive Director of the Green Oregon Alliance, calling it a major step for accountable forest management.

The ruling invalidates a loophole created in 1992 that had been applied to more than three million acres of public forest, allowing commercial logging without a full environmental assessment. Judges found that projects had no size limits and lacked evidence of minimal impact, even though they were framed as wildfire prevention. The decision does not halt forest restoration but requires that large-scale interventions undergo rigorous environmental scrutiny, strengthening long-term ecosystem protection while still allowing fire mitigation through transparent, science-based planning.