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. Everyone is
caring and patient and cares
about your every concern...”
Come see how
comfortable dentisty
can really be...
• Caring/friendly team
• Nitrous sedation
• Movies
another smiling family
KLEMP FAMILY DENTISTRY
1006 West Marine Drive, Astoria
(503) 468-0116
www.klempfamilydentistry.com
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
REGIONAL FORECAST
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
Seattle
68 56
Becoming
cloudy
66 52
65 55
66 52
64 51
61 49
Low clouds may
Partly sunny Turning cloudy
Partly sunny
break
A bit of rain
59 48
Cloudy
Aberdeen
Olympia
67/58
70/58
Wenatchee
Tacoma
Moses
Lake
70/56
ALMANAC
UNDER THE SKY
TODAY'S TIDES
Astoria through Thursday
Tonight’s Sky: The Milky Way
arcs high across the east as dark-
ness falls, and directly overhead
later on.
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