We have some fantastic news to share with you! Earlier this fall, the U.S. Forest Service agreed to settle a lawsuit the Sierra Club Georgia Chapter filed in 2019, along with our partners at Georgia ForestWatch, over a controversial timber cutting plan in the area around Cooper Creek in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest.
Georgia ForestWatch has a fantastic summary of the lawsuit and what the settlement means, but in short, the Forest Service agreed to cancel plans to allow commercial timber harvests on about 285 acres of National Forest which had previously been designated as “unsuitable” for timber production.
We want to thank all the volunteers who submitted comments on the Cooper Creek project and surveyed the areas planned for commercial harvest. We also want to thank Georgia ForestWatch for partnering with us on the lawsuit and the Southern Environmental Law Center for bringing this lawsuit forward on our behalf.
Finally, we want to thank all our members and supporters who make it possible for the Sierra Club Georgia Chapter to engage in this kind of work. We couldn’t do it without you!