Environmental groups drop logging lawsuit in Cherokee Forest

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee (WDEF) – Environmental groups dismissed their lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service on Thursday in Tennessee.

They were challenging a timber sale of steep land along Tumbling Creek in the Cherokee National Forest in Polk County.

The lawsuit claimed that the logging would endanger soil, forests and water.

But the Forest Service cancelled the sale, so the lawsuit was unnecessary.

“We take the Forest Service’s decision to withdraw the timber sale near Tumbling Creek as an important first step in rebuilding the trust that has been eroded between local citizens and the Forest Service,” said Sam Evans, Leader of SELC’s National Forest and Parks Program.

“Our decision to dismiss the lawsuit is intended in the same spirit.”