Fish and Wildlife Service Re-initiates Bull Trout Consultation in Willamette NF.

On 8-8-02, Judge Redden issued a preliminary injunction in litigation by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) and three other groups over the FWS's failure to protect bull trout as required by the ESA in its May 2002 Biological Opinion (BO) for four timber sales on the Willamette National Forest. Just 10 days after granting the plaintiffs a temporary restraining order, Judge Redden ruled that the case indicated that the FWS may have ignored some of the risks the logging posed to bull trout and failed to provide adequate watershed protections for bull trout habitats. The injunction withdrew the BO, effectively halting the logging and associated road construction.

In response to the injunction, on 8/16/02 FWS announced that it would redo the consultation on the four timber sales. The issue remains before the court. Once the new BO is finished, the plaintiff groups will continue try to ensure that the FWS protects the bull trout as required by the ESA.

The affected bull trout populations in the Upper Willamette Basin are the only population of bull trout west of the Cascades in Oregon. Logging and roads have been the primary cause of the loss of bull trout in the Upper Willamette.

The other plaintiffs groups are Cascadia Wildlands Project, Oregon Natural Resources Council, and Willamette Riverkeeper. Cascade Resources Advocacy Group, a public interest law firm, is representing the plaintiffs in the case.

Previous efforts by the four groups have already reduced the scale of logging originally proposed in these bull trout watersheds.