The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday rejected a lawsuit that challenged nine Kootenai National Forest management projects.

The WildWest Institute in Missoula filed an appeal following a 2006 ruling by U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy. The judge had turned away various claims brought by the institute and entered a summary judgment in favor of the Forest Service.

A three-judge appellate panel upheld the decision.

For more on this story, see Wednesday's edition of The Western News.