Three conservation groups have sued the U.S. Forest Service over the Midnight Restoration Project, which plans logging and thinning on 53,009 acres in the Twisp River drainage.
The lawsuit by the Center for Biological Diversity, the Methow Forest Forum and the Kettle Range Conservation Group alleges that extensive clear-cutting of mature and old-growth forests threatens critical habitat for the northern spotted owl and bull trout, both protected by the Endangered Species Act.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington on Monday (Aug. 31). The plaintiffs are seeking to stop implementation of the project to prevent irreversible harm to the spotted owl, bull trout and their habitat. It names Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest Supervisor Tara Umphries and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) as defendants.
The plaintiffs contend that the extensive commercial and noncommercial timber harvest in old-growth forests violates the Northwest Forest Plan, which they say was adopted to halt this type of logging. Logging in the Midnight project would occur in areas expressly designated as habitat, connectivity corridors and refuges for endangered forest species and aquatic organisms, they say.
The conservation groups worked extensively with Forest Service leadership “toward legally sound, ecologically responsible fuels-reduction that protects the natural assets of the Methow,” Methow Forest Forum President Ric Bailey said. “Litigation is the last resort, after collaboration was unproductive.”
“This lawsuit challenges the false narrative that we have to choose between healthy forests or safe communities,” said Kristine Akland, Northern Rockies director and senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “People in the Methow Valley have lived through devastating wildfires and deserve meaningful protection, but clear-cutting some of the region’s oldest and most important forests isn’t the answer. We can protect communities from wildfire while safeguarding the old forests and wildlife that make these landscapes so cherished.”
Risks to owls, trout
According to the legal complaint, while USFWS acknowledged that the Midnight project would substantially reduce and degrade critical habitat for the spotted owl and bull trout, USFWS nonetheless determined that the project isn’t likely to jeopardize the continued existence of either species. That conclusion is based on incomplete information and flawed analysis and can’t be reconciled with the agency’s own findings, the lawsuit contends.
The Forest Service hasn’t adequately surveyed the project area, meaning that USFWS can’t reliably determine whether the owls currently occupy or use the area, the suit contends.
The Midnight project area includes almost 10,000 acres of nesting, roosting and foraging habitat for the spotted owl, plus almost 6,000 acres of dispersal habitat. It’s expected to downgrade or remove more than 4,800 acres of habitat for the owls, according to the lawsuit.
Part of the purpose of the Northwest Forest Plan was to halt the removal of old forests and to develop forest characteristics to protect and enhance habitat for the spotted owl. But Midnight includes commercial logging within six historic owl home ranges, according to the lawsuit.
Proposed treatments in the riparian reserve areas would remove all spotted owl habitat for 40 years after implementation, reducing overall survival, reproduction and dispersal of the owls, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit says USFWS stated that Midnight “will significantly disrupt normal and essential bull trout behaviors, including the ability to successfully feed, move, and shelter… in portions of the action area.” Extensive road construction, stream crossings and ground disturbance all threaten critical habitat for bull trout, the suit says.
It will compound existing stressors on trout, including low water flows, elevated stream temperatures, and impacts from past fires and climate change, and will further undermine their survival and recovery, the suit says.
The northern spotted owl was classified as threatened in 1990, primarily because of habitat loss. The Midnight project would occur in one of the designated recovery units for the owl, according to the lawsuit.
Bull trout were classified as threatened in 1999 because of habitat degradation and fragmentation. Bull trout require particularly cold water, minimal sediment in streams, and unobstructed migration corridors. The Midnight project area contains two bull trout populations.
Counter to the Forest Service’s claims that logging old-growth forest and along bull trout and salmon streams will increase ecological sustainability, Midnight “is, in fact, about timber volume,” Kettle Range Conservation Group Executive Director Timothy Coleman said.
Coleman asserted that “opening up a forest to the drying effects of wind, sun and drought impacts will increase wildfire risk.”
History of Midnight Project
The 53,009 acres of the Midnight project were split off from the Twisp Restoration Project after most of that project area burned in the 2021 Cedar Creek Fire. Midnight encompasses the Twisp River, Wolf Creek and Rader Creek watersheds. The Forest Service released its final environmental assessment for Midnight in October 2025.
The project authorizes almost 52,000 acres of commercial logging, noncommercial harvest, prescribed fire, fire-line construction, road construction and road decommissioning. It’s expected to take 20 years to complete, with commercial logging occurring in the first eight years.
This isn’t the first lawsuit concerning the Midnight project. The North Cascades Conservation Council successfully sued the Forest Service in 2024, saying that the agency was required to assess the cumulative environmental impacts of the Twisp and Midnight projects because they were initially a single project.
In addition to the Northwest Forest Plan, the Midnight project violates the National Forest Management Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Endangered Species Act, the plaintiffs in the current lawsuit allege.
Methow Forest Forum is a grassroots community-led organization dedicated to promoting wildfire safety and ecologically responsible forest management in the Methow watershed.
The Center for Biological Diversity is a nonprofit dedicated to the protection of native species and their habitats through science, policy and environmental law.
The Kettle Range Conservation Group is a grassroots environmental group whose mission is to defend wilderness, protect biodiversity, and restore ecosystems of the upper Columbia River Basin.
