National Audubon Society v. U.S. Forest Service

ORDER

The panel has voted to amend its opinion filed September 15, 1993 [ 4 F.3d 832 ] as follows:

With this amendment, the panel has voted to deny the petition for rehearing.

OPINION

At issue is a challenge to four timber sales — the Ace, Butch, Varmit and Head timber sales — on unroaded and undeveloped areas of the Rogue River National Forest in Oregon. The United States Forest Service, Bill Christie Jr., and Huffinan and Wright Logging Co. appeal the district court’s order permanently enjoining these timber sales pending completion of an environmental impact statement (“EIS”). The National Audubon Society and other environmental organizations (“Audubon Society”) seek attorneys’ fees pursuant to the Equal Access to Justice Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2412 (1988) (“EAJA”). We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 (1988), and we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand the case to the district court with directions to review the Forest Service’s actions under the “arbitrary and capricious” standard.

I

FACTS

Through the Wilderness Act of 1964, Congress created the National Wilderness Preservation System (‘Wilderness System”) to provide protection for lands relatively untouched by…