Environmentalists don't want to trade for logged-over parcels like those bordering the Pacific Crest Trail. And because the trade is so large, environmentalists want Plum Creek to sell the public some of its more sensitive lands. Plum Creek is currently logging in about 3,000 acres of the land offered for exchange. The proposed legislation would prevent groups from challenging the exchange in court. Mount Baker-Snoqualmie, Wenatchee and Gifford Pinchot.
Land is closer to mills and in areas of less controversy.
The amount of Forest Service land being offered has shrunk by about 50 percent. Much of Kelly Butte, one of the last unlogged, roadless areas in the Green River basin, will stay in public ownership. Environmental groups had objected to proposals for exchanging it to Plum Creek. Instead, the Forest Service will acquire additional lands in the area. Environmentalists want all of the Kelly Butte area put into public ownership.