Lawsuit challenges national forest logging’s threats to North Carolina wildlife

Press release from The Center for Biological Diversity:

ASHEVILLE, N.C.— A coalition of conservation groups sued the U.S. Forest Service today for failing to protect endangered bats in the Nantahala-Pisgah national forests from massively expanded logging allowed under the agency’s new forest plan.

In 2023 the Service released an updated Nantahala-Pisgah plan that will guide the long-term future of two of the nation’s most beloved public lands. The plan quintupled the amount of logging in the forests and failed to protect biologically diverse areas, including habitat for federally protected bats like the northern long-eared bat, Indiana bat, Virginia big-eared bat and gray bat.

“The Forest Service prioritized logging over protecting some of the most endangered animals on the planet,” said Will Harlan, Southeast director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “These bats are on the brink of extinction, yet the Forest Service wants to aggressively increase logging in their forest habitats. It’s another heartbreaking failure of this tragic forest plan.”

Together, the Nantahala and Pisgah national forests are the most visited forests in the country. They total more than 1 million acres, contain 1,500 miles of trails, and boast some of North Carolina’s most iconic destinations. The forests are also major drivers of local economies — each year they attract millions of visitors looking to enjoy the area’s wildlife.

“The amazing diversity of wildlife is a major part of what makes the Pisgah and Nantahala forests so special. The Forest Service should be doing everything they can to protect the rare and endangered animals that call these forests home, not recklessly putting their habitats on the chopping block,” said Sam Evans, leader of SELC’s national forests and parks program. “The Forest Service had a great opportunity to restore forests and protect endangered forest bats, but the agency refused — now we are suing.”

“The U.S. Forest Service is duty bound to conserve species listed under the Endangered Species Act,” said Ben Prater, Southeast program director for Defenders of Wildlife. “The revised Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Plan falls short of the obligation to prevent extinction and secure the habitat strongholds that these public lands provide for four critically endangered bat species. The Plan commits us to accelerated logging and road building for the next 20 years, putting these imperiled bats at even greater risk. This is simply unacceptable for endangered bats that so desperately need our best efforts to survive and recover.”

“Sustainable and economically viable commercial logging is not incompatible with protecting our endangered wildlife. Instead, the Forest Service ignored the best available science and withheld critical information from the Fish and Wildlife Service, which oversees endangered species protection. They forced our hand when they broke the law. Now, we’re going to court to protect wildlife and to win a more responsible Forest Management Plan,” said Josh Kelly, public lands field biologist for MountainTrue.

“The Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests serve as anchor points for sensitive habitat that protects a marvelous array of plants and wildlife, which are increasingly under pressure. The revised Forest Plan misses the boat for protecting key wildlife by emphasizing activities that fragment and degrade habitat, especially for species that rely on mature and undisturbed forests. The N.C. Sierra Club will continue to work to protect the wildlife and habitats that we cannot afford to lose,” said David Reid, national forests issue chair for the Sierra Club.

Instead of fully studying the harm that this enormous logging expansion would do to federally protected bats, the Forest Service relied on incomplete and inaccurate information to downplay the increased risks posed by the new plan. The agency ignored data showing where bats are actually found in the forests and wrongly assumed that forests outside of the bats’ ranges would make up for cutting down their habitats.

The flawed analysis in the forest plan violates the Endangered Species Act, which requires federal agencies to use the best available science when considering how their decisions might harm federally protected species.

For example, in the new forest plan, the Forest Service has doubled the suitable logging acreage surrounding one of the last known endangered Virginia big-eared bat caves. The Forest Service also removed several key measures from its biological assessment that would have strengthened protections for endangered bats.

The northern long-eared bat, Indiana bat, Virginia big-eared bat and gray bat are teetering on the edge of extinction. The Forest Service has admitted that protecting bat habitat in the Nantahala and Pisgah national forests is essential to their survival. The bats are important pieces of these forests’ ecosystems. These bats are aerial acrobats that consume tens of thousands of mosquitoes each night. The Nantahala and Pisgah national forests are one of their most important remaining strongholds.

Today’s lawsuit was filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina on behalf of Defenders of Wildlife, MountainTrue, Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity.

Background

The Nantahala and Pisgah National Forest Plan determines how much of the forest is logged and how much is protected for the next two decades. The plan received more than 30,000 comments and a record-setting 14,000 objections and 99% supported less logging and more protected areas, However, the Forest Service ignored public input and released a plan that quintuples logging and weakens protections for one of the most biologically diverse forests in the country.

The Forest Service also rejected collaborative, common-sense compromise solutions from diverse stakeholders. Instead, it is pursuing hyperaggressive logging goals that harm drinking water, ecosystems, old growth forests, recreational opportunities and hundreds of rare and imperiled species.

Endangered bats are a clear example of the forest plan’s disregard for protecting wildlife.