September 2008:  WFLC Files Lawsuit Against U.S. Government For Steering $350 Million In Public Funds To Timber Industry-Dominated Forest Foundations

On behalf of the Forest Stewardship Council, Conservation Northwest and Center for Biological Diversity, WFLC filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Trade Representative for its 2006 decision steering $350 million in public funds to timber industry-dominated foundations in clear violation of federal appropriations law. Left unchecked, the Bush Administration’s action could have important impacts on United States forest policies.  Learn more here.

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Logging and Landslides

^{Forest Practices Board Members visiting the site of the Stillman Creek Landslide, photo by Karl F. Forsgaard}

In December 2007, a storm triggered more than 700 landslides in the Upper Chehalis basin. While the storm produced very heavy rain, landslides were clearly exacerbated by rampant clearcutting in locations that most neutral scientists believe pose a high risk of landsliding. These landslides are a stark example of the inadequacy of Washington State’s forest practices rules to protect the public from clearcutting on steep and unstable slopes that can slide into rivers, harming our natural resources and causing downstream flooding that threatens public safety. The landslides also demonstrate that the Washington Department of Natural Resources is failing to enforce these logging rules. These inadequacies and failures take their toll in lost homes, business, highways, bridges, and wildlife habitat.

Read the in-depth Seattle Times Special Report investigating the December landslides and their connection to irresponsible logging.

Click here to learn more about our efforts to protect the public and our natural resources from steep slope logging.

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The U.S.-Canada Softwood Lumber Settlement:  How the Bush Administration Diverted $1 Billion to Timber Industry Trade Associations and Industry-Dominated Nonprofit Organizations

In October of 2006, the United States settled the most recent phase of the U.S.-Canada softwood lumber trade dispute by agreeing to refund $5.4 billion in tariffs to Canada. Canada, in turn, agreed to “donate” $1 billion to Bush Administration-determined entities in the U.S. Nearly all of the $1 billion went to politically powerful timber industry dominated associations and organizations that do not have any meaningful environmental representatives. The recipients of these funds have the authority and resources to advance timber industry agendas that are environmentally-destructive.

Click here to learn more about the Washington Forest Law Center’s efforts to get to the bottom of this extraordinary deal.

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