In a rare offensive move, the Plum Creek Timber Co. filed suit Thursday against five environmental groups and the U.S. Forest Service, seeking court backing for a controversial land swap in Washington state. Five enviro groups claim the exchange of 62,384 acres of Plum Creek’s mostly logged land for 15,800 acres of mostly forested federal land, including some old growth, would violate the Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and other laws. Before the enviros had made a decision on whether to sue over the exchange, to which both the government and the timber company have agreed, they were hit with the surprise suit by the logging company. Plum Creek claims that a law passed last year as a rider to an appropriations bill, thanks to Sen. Slade Gorton (R-Wash.), requires the Forest Service to go through with the trade without regard to environmental laws cited by opponents of the deal.
