Opinion ID: 3015167
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: analysis

Text: The Forest Service maintains that the East Side Project is consistent with NFMA’s prohibition against selecting a harvesting system primarily because it will give the greatest dollar return. We agree. Although it is beyond serious contention that the Forest Service considered the economic benefits of generating black cherry stands in structuring the Project, economic concerns may be considered under the Organic Act, MUSYA and NFMA.22 Indeed, Congress has mandated consideration of economic factors. See § 22 Indeed, in its brief, ADP admits that: the financial returns to be gained from proposed logging are a relevant consideration and the East Side Decision is not illegal simply because the Forest Service notes and considers the commercial value of its proposed logging. ADP Brief at 28. 39 1604(g)(3)(A) (providing that forest planning regulations shall include guidelines that “insure consideration of the economic and environmental aspects of various systems of renewable resource management”). However, the record does not support ADP’s claim that economic considerations were paramount or determinative in the Forest Service’s selection of appropriate forest management techniques for the Project. “When a party challenges agency action as arbitrary and capricious the reasonableness of the agency’s action is judged in accordance with its stated reasons.” In re: Comptroller of the Currency, 156 F.3d 1279 (D.C. Cir. 1998) (citing Citizens to Preserve Overton Park, Inc. v. Volpe, 401 U.S. 402 (1971). Moreover, we can assess the facts and evidence of record; we cannot speculate about the agency’s ulterior motives to an extent not supported by the record. See Ohio Forestry Ass’n. Inc. v. Sierra Club, 523 U.S. 726, 736-37 (1998) (chastising the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit for surmising, without evidence supported by “record citation,” that “the Forest Service suffered from a kind of general ‘bias’ in favor of timber production and clearcutting.”). Here, the voluminous record illustrates that the Forest Service’s decision to utilize even-aged management in MA 3 was not arbitrary and capricious. Rather, the record shows that decision was based on a thorough analysis of a variety of both economic and non-economic factors. As the ROD explains, the overall purpose of the Project is the implementation of the Forest Plan by “maintain[ing] and restor[ing] healthy and resilient watersheds and ecosystems.” App. at 33A. In order to do this, the Forest Service must initiate reforestation treatments, establish tree seedlings, improve the horizontal and vertical diversity in the ecosystem, regulate stocking and species composition, supply forest products to 40 meet public demand and to contribute to the economic vitality of local communities, and restore wildlife habitat. See App. at 34A-35A. The ROD also embraces some of the diverse considerations that provided the original justification for the adoption of the Forest Plan in 1986. Those considerations included tree species mix; wildlife species mix; forest structure; and the fact that uneven-aged management is more problematic in terms of deer browsing,23 requires more and longer-term use of herbicides, and is less cost-effective than even-aged management.24 See App. at 49A. 23 The ROD explains: White tailed deer cause extensive damage by feeding on seedlings of tree species found on the ANF. Only even-aged methods that provide abundant sunlight enabling seedlings to quickly grow out of the reach of deer are practical. Even then, reforestation practices (such as fencing, fertilization, and site preparation) are often necessary. The choice of silvicultural systems would be wider were it not for the unusually high deer browsing that occurs on the ANF. App. at 49A. 24 In a lecture included in “Quantitative Silviculture for Hardwood Forests of the Alleghenies,” the authors expressed 41 The record shows that in stands treated with even-aged methods, the ANF is achieving adequate levels of regeneration. In fact, there is as much as a 94 percent reforestation success rate. A.R., Book 43 at F-7-8; see also App. 38A (Magistrate Judge second R&R). Moreover, the record reflects the “marginal” regeneration success rates of uneven-aged management. An Appendix to the East Side EIS explains: reforestation success with uneven-aged management has been very marginal, whereas results with even-aged management have been quite good. Large scale implementation is not consistent with the objectives of certain management areas established by the Forest Plan, and it does not seem prudent until more is known about how to develop adequate tree seedlings of appropriate species. A.R., Book 43 at F-7. Given this record, we simply cannot their concern for the use of uneven-aged management: We must include one very important warning in our discussion of [uneven-aged management], however. There is no assurance that [uneven- aged management] can be used successfully in any region where deer populations are high . . . There are many locations where reproduction simply CANNOT be obtained. A.R., Book 28 at 334 (emphasis in original). 42 conclude that the Forest Service should refrain from pursuing a plan that addresses all of the aforementioned non-dollar related factors merely because the Forest Service considered economic factors as well. The ROD also documents why the Forest Service chose Alternative 1 (emphasizing even-aged management) over Alternative 4 (emphasizing uneven-aged management). The reasons include the following: (1) even-aged harvesting better achieves the desired future condition in MA 3 of Allegheny hardwoods because such shade-intolerant species regenerate better with larger forest opening; (2) several of the shadetolerant tree species are experiencing decline or disease, and uneven-aged management could result in greater susceptibility to insect and disease outbreaks; (3) uneven-aged management is less cost effective; and (4) there are general uncertainties as to whether uneven-aged management could meet the needs of the Plan. ROD, App. at 48A. Additional non-economic reasons for selecting Alternative 1 include the fact that: (1) clearcutting is the optimum method for maintaining aspen due to its intolerance for shade; (2) even-aged management provides abundant sunlight enabling seedlings to quickly grow out of the reach of deer; and (3) even-aged management improves age-class distribution, increases species diversity and moves the project toward the desired future forest condition for the various MAs. ROD, App. at 44A-47A. ADP stresses the fact that even-aged management tends to increase the amount of black cherry, and we realize that black cherry is a very profitable species. Nevertheless, we cannot accept the inference that the Forest Service reached this result 43 primarily because of the economic rewards endemic in evenaged management given the conditions in the ANF. ADP’s argument would require us to invalidate any properly developed forest management plan that might have a concomitant economic benefit; a result that is even less defensible given the congressional mandate to consider economic concerns as long as they do not drive the Plan. This record simply does not support the inference that ADP asks us to draw - that even-aged management was chosen primarily because it will give the greatest dollar return. The record demonstrates that the Forest Service’s emphasis on black cherry is not based on the value of the tree alone. Black cherry also has numerous environmental benefits, including its superior resilience to drought, deer, and pests such as insects.25 The Forest Service is surely not required to ignore these benefits merely because black cherry has the additional benefit of its commercial value. Accordingly, we cannot conclude that the Forest Service’s choice of silvicultural practices, which emphasized the regeneration of black cherry, was based primarily on financial concerns. Although ADP may disagree with the Forest Service’s decision to manage MA 3 through even-aged harvesting, this disagreement is insufficient to establish that the Forest Service’s choice of Alternative 1 was 25 In light of these environmental benefits, it is also reasonable to conclude, that the resilience of black cherry and its robustness have contributed greatly to the increase in that species of Allegheny Hardwood in the ANF. We cannot say the tree’s success is primarily the result of an economically determined management plan of the Forest Service. 44 arbitrary, capricious, or an abuse of discretion. The record provides ample support for the Forest Service’s stated rationale and confirms that even-aged management was not selected primarily to secure the greatest dollar return. III. CONCLUSION. Accordingly, for the reasons set forth above, we will affirm the District Court’s order granting summary judgment to the Forest Service on counts I and III of ADP’s complaint. 45