Morrison

The Alaska Wilderness Recreation and Tourism Association, the Organized Village of Kake, the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Wilderness Society (“Alaska Wilderness”) appeal the district court’s denial of their request for an injunction and declaratory judgment against the United States Forest Service. Amici curiae Sitka Tribe of Alaska and Klawoek Cooperative Association submit a brief in support of Alaska Wilderness. Intervenor Alaska Forest Association (“AFA”) intervened on the side of the Forest Service.

Following the early termination of a 50-year contract with the Alaska Pulp Corporation (“APC”), the Forest Service opened the harvest area to bids from other lumber companies. We hold that the Forest Service’s failure to hold public proceedings and to consider alternative plans for the area before embarking on new timber sales violated the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 4321 et seq., and the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (“ANILCA”), 16 U.S.C. § 3101 et seq. We vacate and remand to the district court to conduct a balancing of the equities to determine whether the preliminary…