Environmental group suing U.S. Forest Service on behalf of Spalding’s catchfly

The environmentalist group, the Greater Hells Canyon Council, issued a lawsuit on Jan. 10 against the U.S. Forest Service on behalf of the Spalding’s catchfly, a flowering plant related to the carnation found only in tiny pockets of northeastern Oregon, northern Idaho, and southeastern Washington. The group asserts there are fewer than 1,000 individual catchfly plants and they exist in a grazing area near the Imnaha River. “This isn’t about a rancher doing something wrong,” said Veronica Warnock, the group’s conservation director, in its announcement of the suit. “This is about the Forest Service ignoring management recommendations on how to protect and recover a threatened species, something it is required to do in Hells Canyon.” — WLJ