US Forest Service halts logging in Utah national forest

Salt Lake City, Utah – The Ashley National Forest in Utah is home to 147,000 acres of trees whose logging will cease as a result of a lawsuit brought by environmental groups opposing the project.

In October 2023, the Forest Service gave the project approval. Many of Utah’s bighorn sheep, deer, elk, bears, and raptors would have lost their habitat, according to the Center for Biological Diversity. Rare woodland creatures like the wolverine and lynx can be found living in the forest.

The project’s cancellation was hailed as a “huge victory” for the Ashley National Forest by Ted Zukoski, a senior attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity.

“While it’s a great relief the Aspen Project has been shelved for now, it never should’ve been approved in the first place,” Zukoski said. “Our biologically rich natural places need to be protected, not logged.”

Situated in southwestern Wyoming and northeastern Utah, the Ashley National Forest covers 1.4 million acres. The entire logging endeavor would have happened inside the boundaries of Beehive State.
According to reports, the project would have used managed burns and commercial logging to clear aspens and conifers.

According to the Center for Biological Diversity, the forest’s ecosystem is diverse enough to support a vast range of plant and animal species. According to the institute, the first is regarded as western North America’s most significant deciduous forest. In addition to serving as natural fuel breaks, aspens can be crucial for controlling and containing wildfires.

“We appreciate that the Forest Service came to their senses and withdrew their plan to log and burn inventoried roadless areas on the Ashley,” said Native Ecosystems Council Director Sara Johnson, PhD. “In the future, we hope they don’t force us to take them to court. This project would have destroyed songbird habitat, many of which are declining in numbers.”