The court of appeals affirmed a district court judgment in part, reversed in part, vacated in part, and remanded in part. The court held that the U.S. Forest Service’s 2004 Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment adequately addressed short-term impacts to old forest wildlife and disclosed and rebutted public opposition. The court held further that the Forest Service did not violate the National Environmental Policy Act when approving an associated timber harvesting project because it adequately addressed cumulative impacts of the proposed management action. The court also held that the Forest Service did violate NEPA by failing to update the alternatives from a 2001 Framework supplemental environmental impact statement to reflect new modeling techniques used in the 2004 Framework supplemental environmental impact statement.
In early 2001, the U.S. Forest Service completed a ten-year review process that resulted in the Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment and an accompanying Rule of Decision (2001 Framework). The 2001 Framework significantly altered guidelines for management of 10 national forests and one management unit, which collectively included 11.5 million acres in the Sierra Nevada region of California.
