BOISE - A federal judge has halted a salvage logging project on state land in North Idaho by temporarily banning the use of a contested U.S. Forest Service road on private property within a Wild and Scenic River corridor.

U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill in an eight-page decision released late Friday granted a temporary restraining order requested by Morgan and Olga Wright and Idaho Rivers United.

"The Selway is a national treasure, and the Forest Service has to protect the numerous values that lead to its Wild and Scenic designation," Kevin Lewis of Idaho Rivers United said in a statement.

State officials estimate the sale on about 167 acres about 25 miles east of Kooskia would produce nearly 7 million board feet of timber and bring in about $2 million to the endowment fund that supports Idaho's public schools. Delaying the project will make the timber fall in value, state officials said.

"We respect the rule of law, and will continue to pursue all legal remedies to ensure this public school endowment forest and the water that surrounds it stay healthy so the forest can provide financial benefits for this generation and future generations of Idaho schoolchildren," Idaho Department of Lands Director Tom Schultz said in a statement.

The initial lawsuit filed in May seeks to reverse the determination by District Ranger Joe Hudson that Forest Road 652 is public. If it's not public, that means the Department of Lands would have to obtain a special use permit from the Forest Service.

Such a permit would require an environmental analysis of effects on the Selway Wild and Scenic River corridor. But state and federal officials said a permit isn't needed, and the state recently held a successful timber sale. Logging was scheduled to start Monday.

Winmill in his decision recognized the potential loss to the state by delaying the timber harvest, but said expediting the case could mitigate the harm.

"The Court therefore finds that the potential harm to the Selway River if the injunction is not granted outweighs the hardships caused by any delay to the State," Winmill wrote. "An injunction here would be in the public interest as it would recognize the protections for the Wild and Scenic River corridor."

Winmill also wrote in granting the injunction that the Wrights and Idaho Rivers United met the criteria that the initial lawsuit had a likelihood of success on its merits.

The lightning-caused Johnson Bar Fire burned more than 20 square miles last summer and fall, mostly on Forest Service land but also on state endowment land. The department said there is no Wild and Scenic easement on state lands in the area where the logging is planned.

But the Wright's property, including the portion of the road that the Wright's maintain, is entirely within the protected corridor. Complicating matters is that the property also contains two easements. One easement is from 1937 that the Forest Service says makes public 765 feet of Forest Road crossing the Wright's property.

Another easement from 1977 bans using the property for mining and industrial activities. It contains a public entry clause that talks about access to the river.