Oregon’s Grasshopper Fire Puts Spotlight on Litigation That Delayed Wildfire Prevention

Anti-Forestry Group Collected $55,000 from Taxpayers After Suing to Delay Forest Management

The Grasshopper Fire is burning through forests on Oregon's Mt. Hood National Forest that were identified and prioritized years ago for hazardous fuels reduction through a collaborative effort involving local communities and the U.S. Forest Service. Yet much of that work remains unimplemented after years of litigation and administrative delays slowed or prevented the projects from moving forward.

These forests are located in one of the High Priority Landscapes identified in the Biden Administration's 2022 Wildfire Crisis Strategy that targeted "high risk firesheds" to improve resilience to wildfire.

Years before the current wildfire, the Wasco County Forest Collaborative worked with the U.S. Forest Service to develop the Grasshopper Restoration Project, the 27 Road Fuel Break, and the Hootnanny Project to reduce hazardous fuels, meet the intent of the Wildfire Crisis Strategy, and improve forest conditions across more than 11,000 acres.

The Grasshopper Restoration Project became the subject of litigation brought by Oregon Wild under the National Environmental Policy Act challenging the paperwork supporting the project. The Forest Service ultimately settled the case by removing less than two percent of the proposed treatment areas, reducing management in others, imposing additional project restrictions, and paying Oregon Wild $55,000 in attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act.

As a result of the litigation, the commercial mechanical treatments did not occur across any of the project area before the Grasshopper Fire started after last week's lightening storms. The fire has now burned through much of the planned Grasshopper project area, impacting critical habitat for listed species, destroying more than 25 million board feet of timber identified for removal while threatening the Highland Ditch irrigation system, which supplies water to approximately 3,600 acres of agricultural land.

"Everyone involved understood these forests were at risk and needed treatment," said AFRC President Travis Joseph. "The Forest Service knew it. Local communities knew it. Members of the Wasco County Forest Collaborative spent years developing these projects because they recognized the wildfire risk. Instead of getting that work done on the ground, the projects got tied up in litigation and other procedural tactics meant to obstruct the Forest Service."

On July 7, just weeks before the Grasshopper Fire began, Oregon Wild and WildEarth Guardians served a Notice of Intent to sue again over four additional Mt. Hood National Forest projects, including the nearby 27 Road Fuel Break and Hootnanny Project, which are now within the fire area. Ironically, the 27 Road Fuel Break project was designed to limit the spread of wildfire by establishing a linear fuel break adjacent to the Badger Creek Wilderness, which is now burning in the Grasshopper Fire.

"This is the epitome of a broken system. The public should find this deeply troubling," Joseph said. "Taxpayers paid an organization for delaying a collaboratively developed project intended to reduce wildfire risk, and before most of the delayed thinning could be completed, the project area burned. When litigation overrides the judgment of professional foresters, scientists, land managers, and local collaboratives charged with stewarding our public lands, the consequences are felt on the ground. We all lose, including our forests. Congress should ask whether taxpayer-funded attorney fees are advancing the public interest or simply financing delay, obstruction, and inaction." Contact: Nick Smith, AFRC