Forest Service has until July 28 to answer federal law suit alleging freedom of information violations

Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / The sun sets on a cloudy day over Parksville Lake in the Cherokee National Forest in 2020. The cypress trees are Ocoee landmark as they grow from the lake near where Greasy Creek joins the reservoir. A Trump-era rule change in November 2020 eliminated safeguards involving public input under the National Environmental Policy Act that protects national forests from unneeded, ill-conceived and destructive logging, road building and utility right-of-way projects. Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / The sun sets on a cloudy day over Parksville Lake in the Cherokee National Forest in 2020. The cypress trees are Ocoee landmark as they grow from the lake near where Greasy Creek joins the reservoir. A Trump-era rule change in November 2020 eliminated safeguards involving public input under the National Environmental Policy Act that protects national forests from unneeded, ill-conceived and destructive logging, road building and utility right-of-way projects.

By Ben Benton July 20, 2022 3 min read

Two environmental groups are suing the U.S. Forest Service, saying the agency is failing to release public records that would shed light on new rules that bypass a public study and review process for certain projects.

The rules were put in place in November 2020 by the administration of former President Donald Trump, but the records dispute has dragged on well into the administration of President Joe Biden.

The Southern Environmental Law Center in Virginia and Defenders of Wildlife in Washington, D.C., sued in June, saying records have been withheld for as long as three years, and counting. The forest service was recently granted a two-week extension through July 28 to respond to the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Virginia.

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