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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 2019)
A7 THE ASTORIAN • SATuRdAy, SEpTEmbER 21, 2019 Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo Vehicles crowd Highway 50 in Sacramento, Calif. Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press A federal judge has ordered the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to reconsider a 100-acre logging project near Springfield because existing plans violated environmental laws. Judge orders BLM to revise 100-acre Oregon logging project contrary to its own framework for the area. The judge said the BLM effectively planned to “cut the trees first, zone the buffer A federal judge has overturned a 100- later” due to economic and operational con- acre Oregon logging project because the U.S. siderations with “no basis or explanation for Bureau of Land Management didn’t estab- this argument.” lish buffers around recreational trails or suffi- “In essence, they argue that it is simply eas- ier to paint on a blank canvas,” McShane said. ciently evaluate fire risks. U.S. District Judge Michael McShane “But allowing logging and then establishing a has determined that BLM violated federal recreation management zone at some unspeci- land management and environmental pol- fied later date — if at all — seems to defeat the icy statutes by approving the timber sale near zone’s very purpose.” Springfield. The judge also faulted BLM for not analyz- Preliminary work on the logging project ing the project’s fire hazard effects in detail at was expected to begin in October, but will the local scale after the agency concluded that now be postponed until the agency reana- it sufficiently looked at wildfire issues under lyzes the timber sale to an earlier resource comply with the judge’s management plan for orders. 1.3 million acres of its ‘ALLOWING “We’re excited property in the region. LOGGING ANd THEN about getting it through Since the timber sale the last hoops. We are amounted to less than ESTAbLISHING disappointed about yet 1% of the total forested another round of anal- watershed — the vast A RECREATION ysis,” said Lawson Fite, majority of which is mANAGEmENT attorney for the Sen- owned by private tim- ber companies — the eca Sawmill Co., which ZONE AT SOmE plans to log the site and BLM decided that it has uNSpECIFIEd LATER minimal influence over intervened in the case. While the judge has landscape-level fire dATE — IF AT ALL — ordered the BLM to risks. reconsider aspects of McShane has ruled SEEmS TO dEFEAT the project, the ruling that BLM “improperly THE ZONE’S VERy affirms that timber har- diluted the proposed vest is compatible with action’s effects” to puRpOSE.’ logging in this area, he understate the “effects said. of regeneration log- U.S. District Judge Michael McShane The timeline for ging” and “deprived the restarting the project public of meaningful remains unclear at this point. “I would hope participation.” the agency would be able to fix the fairly nar- “An agency cannot minimize an activity’s row issues identified in fairly short order,” Fite environmental impact by adopting a broad said. scale analysis and marginalizing the activity’s Nick Cady, attorney for the environmental site-specific impact,” the judge said. plaintiffs, said the project will actually have to McShane has ordered the agency to recon- be substantially revised because logging can’t sider its plans for the project to “adequately” occur directly over recreational trails, effec- disclose and analyze fire hazards, and to des- tively reducing the timber harvest area by at ignate harvest buffers for trails before logging least one-third. begins. Cascadia Wildlands and Oregon Wild, While the judge held that BLM violated the plaintiffs, don’t want to stop logging in the Federal Land Policy and Management Act the area entirely but would prefer the agency and the National Environmental Policy Act in relied on thinning rather than forcing recre- these respects, he rejected some of the argu- ational users to walk and bike through clear- ments made by Cascadia Wildlands and Ore- cuts, he said. gon Wild. “We think there are ways for BLM to get a Specifically, McShane determined that win-win,” Cady said. BLM wasn’t required to preserve the area’s The project is within a 1,000-acre exten- forested characteristics for recreational users, sive recreation management area next to prop- such as mountain bikers who may not be con- erty in the Thurston Hills owned by the Willa- cerned about scenery. malane Parks and Recreation District. “The framework does not prioritize for- Although BLM provided for 8.5 miles of est canopy or naturalness, and there is no evi- trails and 15% tree retention within the proj- dence in the record that such values are uni- ect boundary, environmental groups sued ear- versal,” he said. lier this year over the alleged negative impacts The agency did take a “hard look” at the of logging on scenic and recreational values. effects logging would have on recreational McShane has now agreed with some of experiences but it’s “not responsible for meet- their arguments, finding that BLM improperly ing plaintiffs’ subjective expectations of what failed to set aside a recreation management any given visitor’s recreational experience zone to spare trees around trails from harvest should resemble,” McShane said. By MATEUSZ PERKOWISKI Capital press SEVENDAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA TODAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY States sue Trump to keep California’s auto emission rules sive and impeding safety because consum- ers were being priced out of newer, safer vehicles.” “We will not let political agendas in a sin- gle state be forced upon the other 49,” Chao said. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said its authority to set nationwide fuel economy standards pre- empts state and local programs. California Attorney General Xavier Bec- erra cited a 2007 U.S. Supreme Court deci- sion that rejected the NTSB’s argument that greenhouse gas emission standards under the Clean Air Act interfered with its ability to set fuel economy standards. “The Oval Office is really not a place for on-the-job training. President Trump should have at least read the instruction manual he inherited when he assumed the presidency, in particular the chapter on respecting the rule of law,” Becerra said in a statement. Federal regulators said the regulation would not impact California’s programs to address “harmful smog-forming vehicle emissions.” Joining California in the lawsuit are attor- neys general from Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massa- chusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylva- nia, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Wash- ington state and Wisconsin. The cities of New York and Los Angeles and the District of Columbia also joined the lawsuit. Oregon among the states By ADAM BEAM Associated press SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California sued Friday to stop the Trump administration from revoking its authority to set greenhouse gas emission and fuel economy standards for cars and trucks, enlisting help from 22 other states in a battle that will shape a key compo- nent of the nation’s climate policy. Federal law sets standards for how much pollution can come from cars and trucks. But since the 1970s, California has been per- mitted to set tougher rules because it has the most cars and struggles to meet air quality standards. On Thursday, the National High- way Traffic Safety Administration withdrew California’s waiver. The NHTSA action does not take effect for 60 days, but state leaders did not wait to file a lawsuit. Democratic Gov. Gavin New- som, who has clashed with President Don- ald Trump on several fronts, vowed the state “will hold the line in court to defend our chil- dren’s health, save consumers money at the pump and protect our environment.” The Trump administration’s decision does not just affect California. Thirteen other states, plus the District of Columbia, have adopted California’s standards. A spokesman for the National High- way Traffic Safety Administration declined to comment on the lawsuit. But Thursday, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said the rules “were making cars more expen- Tired of being frustrated? Klemp Family Dentistry offers... • Focused prevention of damage to teeth, gum and bone • All general dentistry needs • A broad range of therapies “This is truly “family dentistry” because the moment you enter the state of the art office you are greeted and treated just like you are a part of Dr. Klemp’s family. 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Astoria / Port Docks Temperatures High/low ................................ 66/48 Normal high/low .................. 67/49 Record high .................. 85 in 1939 Record low .................... 36 in 1983 Precipitation Thursday ................................. Trace Month to date ........................ 5.36” Normal month to date ......... 1.19” Year to date .......................... 31.02” Normal year to date ........... 39.29” Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2019 Source: Jim Todd, OMSI Sunrise today .................. 7:01 a.m. Sunset tonight ............... 7:16 p.m. Moonrise today ........... 11:35 p.m. Moonset today .............. 2:33 p.m. New First 7:11 a.m. 6:12 p.m. Full Cape Disappointment 6:41 a.m. 6:07 p.m. 6:58 a.m. 6:13 p.m. Warrenton 7:06 a.m. 6:07 p.m. Knappa 7:48 a.m. 6:49 p.m. Depoe Bay Sep 21 Sep 28 Oct 5 Oct 13 5.3 12:31 a.m. 0.6 7.3 12:19 p.m. 2.9 6:02 a.m. 5:15 p.m. 5.0 11:35 a.m. 3.0 6.6 none 5.5 12:15 a.m. 0.4 7.2 11:59 a.m. 3.0 5.7 12:15 a.m. 0.7 7.7 12:03 p.m. 3.0 5.7 1:32 a.m. 7.6 1:20 p.m. 0.5 2.5 5.7 11:03 a.m. 3.6 7.4 none City Atlanta Boston Chicago Dallas Denver Honolulu Houston Los Angeles Miami New York City Phoenix San Francisco Wash., DC Today Hi/Lo/W Sun. Hi/Lo/W 86/64/pc 80/64/s 79/67/t 91/74/c 74/45/pc 88/76/sh 88/76/pc 88/68/s 87/77/t 84/66/s 96/73/s 81/58/s 88/69/s 88/65/s 86/69/pc 70/56/t 92/73/pc 77/50/s 88/78/pc 87/73/t 91/65/s 85/78/t 85/69/s 98/72/s 75/58/pc 92/70/s Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice. 76/51 Hermiston The Dalles 80/52 Enterprise Pendleton 68/44 76/50 78/55 La Grande 72/47 73/56 NATIONAL CITIES High (ft.) Time Low (ft.) Hammond SUN AND MOON Last Time 70/50 Kennewick Walla Walla 76/57 Lewiston 80/53 69/57 Salem Pullman 75/48 Longview 68/56 Portland 72/57 69/49 Yakima 77/50 67/55 Astoria Spokane 73/53 Corvallis 73/55 Albany 74/55 John Day Eugene Bend 74/56 72/48 72/48 Ontario 72/44 Caldwell Burns 67/36 71/46 Medford 78/54 Klamath Falls 70/40 City Baker City Brookings Ilwaco Newberg Newport Today Hi/Lo/W 71/40/pc 70/54/s 66/57/pc 72/55/pc 68/56/pc Sun. Hi/Lo/W 73/43/c 64/53/r 65/54/r 66/48/r 65/52/r City North Bend Roseburg Seaside Springfi eld Vancouver Today Hi/Lo/W 71/58/pc 78/56/pc 67/56/c 75/55/pc 70/57/pc Sun. Hi/Lo/W 67/53/r 66/54/r 65/53/r 66/50/r 66/50/r