Two conservation groups filed a lawsuit Monday in federal District Court against the U.S. Forest Service to halt the Castle Mountains logging and burning project in the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest.
The Alliance for the Wild Rockies and Natives Ecosystems Council said the project calls for cutting and burning trees on 22,500 acres and bulldozing 45.1 miles of logging roads.
Mike Garrity, executive director of the Alliance for the Wild Rockies, said the forest service had ignored serious legal and environmental concerns.
He said the project violates Forest Plan protections for elk recommended in a document between Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and the Forest Service.