Attorney for USFS said project would reduce wildfire threats

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A federal appeals court has blocked a western Montana logging project while it considers a lawsuit that claims the project could harm threatened species.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday granted an injunction to the conservation groups that requested the Glacier Loon project near Condon be halted.

The groups say the project includes 2 square miles (5 square kilometers) of logging, building nearly 6 miles (10 kilometers) of new temporary roads and reopening 16 miles (26 kilometers) of previously closed roads.

They say U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service didn’t properly analyze the project’s potential harm to threatened grizzly bears and the habitat of wolverines and threatened Canada lynx.

Attorneys representing the U.S. Forest Service say the project would reduce wildfire threats. A U.S. district judge previously ruled in favor of the project.

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