Four conservation groups filed suit in January over the Round Star logging project west of Whitefish on the Tally Lake Ranger District.  

In the suit against the Flathead National Forest, the Alliance for the Wild Rockies, Council on Wildlife and Fish, Yellowstone to Uintas Connection and Native Ecosystems Council argue that the project is ill-conceived and encroaches on lynx, grizzly and elk habitat.   

“Lynx critical habitat is the worst place for clearcuts,” said Mike Garrity, executive director of the Alliance for the Wild Rockies, in a Jan. 9 press release. “The surest way to drive lynx to extinction is to continue massive deforestation of the West.” 

However, local loggers say that the lawsuit is a deterrence to the bigger picture of forest management.  

“If you look at the reason the lynx is an endangered species, the cause is not habitat loss due to logging. The cause is climate change,” said Paul McKenzie, vice president and general manager of F.H. Stoltze Land & Lumber, one of the two companies that purchased a timber sale in the area and has been logging since June 2024.  

“It has to do with wildfire and vegetation management,” McKenzie said. “If we shut down, we lose infrastructure. You’ve got to look at the bigger picture. It’s a balancing act, and Mother Nature is marching ahead.” 

Leever & Sons Forestry Management has also been logging in the Round Star Project area since June 2024.  

“It takes years for the Forest Service to conduct an environmental assessment. It goes through a thorough process and a public review before going up for sale,” said Chris Leever. “And the Forest Service checks on us to make sure we’re doing a good job and following the specifications of the contract. It’s a well thought out, well-oiled machine.” 

Leever said his foresters make decisions on a number of parameters, such as age and tree species. For example, leaving old growth larches spaced out in certain spots can be a priority based on each unit.  

Approximately 92% of the Round Star project area is in the wildland-urban interface – a critical zone at the junction of wildlife and human development.  

From the logging industry’s perspective, they are following parameters for a “suitable timber base.”  

“There is an overarching forest plan that has maps with land use classifications,” McKenzie said. “We have everything from wilderness areas to suitable timber base, which is what this area is. 

“There are lot of different values that are managed within this type of area, from public recreational use to wildlife habitat, hunting and production of wood products to support the local economy,” McKenzie said.  

One of the project’s aims is to expand recreation opportunities in the Round Meadow Cross-Country Ski Area by creating 5.6 miles of additional trails, 20 miles of permanent roads, 3.4 miles of temporary roads, and building infrastructure including additional parking, a warming shelter and equipment storage. 

Both Leever and McKenzie said that the most important goal of the project, however, is managing vegetation for fuel reduction.  

“Traditionally, wind driven wildfires can move from west to the east. And this is an area west of residential areas. Reducing risk is important,” McKenzie said.  

Leever, referencing recent wildfires in Los Angeles, said, “That’s what happens when there’s mismanagement. People have to wake up to this.” 

McKenzie said that Stoltze uses about 30 million of board feet a year at the sawmill.  

“That’s about 40 log trucks a day.” McKenzie said. “And for our employees to have any certainty that they’re going to have a job tomorrow and next year, we need to know where our wood is coming from.”  

While logging can continue until the court makes a decision, it leaves uncertainty for loggers and, according to both Leever and McKenzie, inefficiency for the Forest Service.  

“Foresters and wildlife biologists have to drop their time on management to turn around and work with attorneys. It’s taking the eye off the ball,” McKenzie said.  

Leever said that in the process, “the infrastructure for our timber industry is dying. 

“We’re dying by the day. I mean, you talk about critical habitat – we need to be good stewards of the forest and leave it better for our kids,” Leever said.