A pair of environmental watchdog groups say that the federal government must analyze the cumulative effects of expedited logging and prescribed burning in nearly 5 million acres of Montana deemed insect and disease infested. Three Forks-based Native Ecosystems Council and Helena-based Alliance for the Wild Rockies filed suit recently over the Moose Creek Vegetation Project near White Sulphur Springs, naming Regional Forester Leanne Marten, Forest Service Chief Tony Tooke, and Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest Supervisor Bill Avey as defendants. The groups make several arguments in the lawsuit, including that the allowance of categorically excluded timber projects under the 2014 Farm Bill must be analyzed for their cumulative impacts, and that the appearance of a grizzly bear in an area previously deemed unoccupied also warrants environmental consideration.