A watchdog group has asked a federal judge in Montana to send the top forest official to jail for contempt, arguing that the U.S. Forest Service missed the deadline for a complete environmental analysis of dropping fire retardant on wildfires.
Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey responded Thursday that the environmental assessment the Forest Service submitted was as complete as it could be. He said that the service expected to find no significant harm from fire-retardant use but that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service needed more time to consider the effect on endangered species.
Andy Stahl, director of Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics, said the assessment was missing a crucial element, a finding of no significant environmental impact.
