ASHLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Ashland City Council will not join the U.S. Forest Service as a defendant in a lawsuit over thinning in the Ashland watershed.
Councilwoman Kate Jackson says the thinning project is essential to the health of the watershed, but the city’s legal department doesn’t have the needed expertise in environmental law.
In January, Ashland City Councilman Eric Navickas and a former local resident sued the Forest Service over plans to conduct thinning and prescribed burning on 7,600 acres to reduce wildfire risk.
The two cited environmental concerns and potential impacts to the city’s water supply in the watershed.