©BLM

OREGON—A federal judge has denied a request by environmental groups to stop a Bureau of Land Management logging project near Ashland while their lawsuit moves forward. The Applegate Siskiyou Alliance and Klamath Forest Alliance sued over the Ashland SOS project, arguing the agency failed to adequately consider its environmental impacts. But a federal judge ruled the BLM had sufficiently analyzed the project and that reducing wildfire risk outweighs delaying the work while the case proceeds. The BLM is removing dead and dying fir trees through timber sales to reduce the risk of severe wildfire. This is being done through timber sales, which also include logging live trees. Applegate Siskiyou Alliance Executive Director Luke Ruediger said agency is removing far more fire-resistant hardwood trees than it originally said it would.