In August 2015, Wilderness Watch convinced the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to cancel plans for a commercial logging operation in the Red Rock Lakes Wilderness in Montana. The project had been planned as part of a larger fuels reduction effort at the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, located in the Centennial Valley west of Yellowstone National Park. The Wilderness portion of the project proposed thinning 18 acres using motor vehicles, bulldozers, and other mechanical equipment. Furthermore, the FWS planned to contract with commercial loggers to conduct the project. Wilderness Watch pointed out how the project violated the Wilderness Act, and how it lacked sufficient environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act. The FWS notified us on September 1 that it would hold off on the wilderness portions of the project until it determined what additional environmental review is required. Let’s hope they realize commercial logging in Wilderness is wrong no matter how much it is analyzed.
