First Circuit likely to uphold Trump administration timber plan near Appalachian Trail

A proposal from the Trump administration to allow clear-cutting and other logging activities in parts of New Hampshire’s White Mountain National Forest reached the First Circuit Court. The plan would affect thousands of acres near Mount Washington and close to two prominent lakes, both intersecting the Appalachian Trail. Standing Trees, an environmental organization, challenged the plan under the National Forest Management Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and the Administrative Procedure Act, alleging inadequate environmental review and threats to water quality, the northern long-eared bat, and scenic values.

First Circuit judges, including Gustavo Gelpí and David Barron, emphasized the need to defer to the Forest Service’s technical expertise and noted that the plaintiffs had not shown the agency’s documents to be incomprehensible in a way that would invalidate the decision. Forest Service attorney Robert Stockman asserted that old-growth stands were removed from the plan and that the agency’s analysis satisfied legal requirements. Judges Julie Rikelman and others examined the record and found no clear evidence of old-growth logging, reinforcing the likelihood that the appellate court will leave the lower-court ruling intact.