Minnesota Court sides with conservationists in Superior National Forest lawsuit

Decision allows US Forest Service to move forward

Coraopolis, Pennsylvania - Sportsmen and women are among the winners in a significant legal victory in a case regarding the Superior National Forest in northern Minnesota. The Ruffed Grouse Society (RGS) joined with others including the Minnesota Forest Industries, Inc., Minnesota Timber Producers Association, All Terrain Vehicle Association of Minnesota, Blue Ribbon Coalition, Lake County and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to defend important habitat management projects being proposed by the US Forest Service.

In 2008 the Sierra Club and other preservationists had filed suit to halt implementation of the recently revised Forest Plan - claiming that because the Plan allowed habitat management projects adjacent to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) it would affect the wilderness character of the BWCAW and, therefore, should not move ahead.