Ebbetts Pass Forest Watch v. California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection

Real party in interest Sierra Pacific Industries (Sierra Pacific) submitted, and defendant California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) approved, three timber harvest plans for the logging of trees on private land in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Two conservation groups, Ebbetts Pass Forest Watch and the Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center (plaintiffs), sought a writ of mandate to overturn the approvals, contending, inter alia, that CDF had not followed the law (i.e., the Z’berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act of 1973, Pub. Resources Code, § 4511 et seq. (Forest Practice Act); its implementing regulations (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 14, § 896 et seq.) (Forest Practice Rules); and the California Environmental Quality Act, Pub. Resources Code, § 21000 et seq. (CEQA)) in selecting geographic areas for assessing the cumulative impacts of logging on two animal species (the California spotted owl and the Pacific fisher) and in analyzing the effects of Sierra Pacific’s possible use of herbicides after logging. The Court of Appeal, agreeing with these contentions, reversed the superior court’s denial of the petition. On review of the Court of Appeal decision, we…