W. Va. Div. of Izaak Walton League v. Butz - 522 F.2d 945 (4th Cir. 1975)

Rule:

The Organic Act, 16 U.S.C.S. §§ 475-482, constitutes a clear directive from congress that trees can be sold and cut only if they are dead, matured, or large growth and then may be sold only when the sale serves the purpose of preserving and promoting the young growth of timber on the national forests.

Facts:

Alleging that the Forest Service was entering into contracts for the sale of timber in the Monongahela National Forest of West Virginia, the terms of which violated the Organic Act of 1897, the plaintiffs instituted the present action seeking both declaratory and injunctive relief. Specifically, the plaintiffs challenged three proposed timber sales which in the aggregate covered the harvesting of 1077 acres. The district court granted summary judgment to the plaintiffs and granted injunctive and declaratory relief. 

Issue:

Did the district court err in granting summary judgment to the plaintiffs? 

Answer:

No.

Conclusion:

On appeal, the court noted that The Organic Act, 16 U.S.C.S. §§ 475-482, constituted a clear directive from congress that trees can be sold and cut only if they were dead, matured, or large growth and then may be sold only when the sale served the purpose of preserving and promoting the young growth of timber on the national forests. In the case, the court held that the agency's practices, regulations, and contracts that permitted the cutting of trees that were not dead, mature, or large growth, permitted the cutting of trees that had not been individually marked, and allowed timber that had been cut to remain at the site violated the provisions of the Organic Act, 16 U.S.C.S. §§ 475-482. Further, the court upheld the injunction that prohibited the Forest Service from contracting for or otherwise allowing the cutting of timber in the Monongahela National Forest.