Home / Environment / Court Halts Logging Project to Protect Endangered Grizzly Bears in Montana
Court Halts Logging Project to Protect Endangered Grizzly Bears in Montana
15 Nov
Summary
- Federal judge orders shutdown of 10,000-acre logging operation
- Lawsuit cites threat to grizzly bears in Cabinet-Yaak recovery zone
- Agencies failed to properly assess impact on wildlife and habitat
On October 27, 2025, a federal judge ordered the shutdown of a 10,000-acre logging operation in northwest Montana, citing the project's detrimental impact on the region's struggling grizzly bear population. The ruling came after the environmental organization Center for Biological Diversity sued the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2022, alleging that the agencies had violated several environmental laws in their approval of the Knotty Pine Project.
The judge, Dana L. Christensen, found that the federal agencies had failed to properly assess the project's effects on wildlife and habitat, particularly the risks it posed to the endangered grizzly bears in the Cabinet-Yaak recovery zone. This zone is home to only around 50 of the bears, making it one of the most imperiled grizzly populations in the lower 48 states.
