Quinn Welsch

(CN) — The U.S. Forest Service violated the law when it authorized commercial off-road vehicles in the habitat of an endangered weasel-like critter that lives in the coastal forests of Oregon and Northern California, a federal judge found.

The coastal marten, a rare orange-furred carnivore that resides along the Pacific Coast, has been listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act since 2020. Despite the listing, the Forest Service began authorizing special-use permits for large commercial off-road events in the dunes in June 2024.

The judge’s decision comes just before a scheduled off-roading event in the dunes.

The Center for Biological Diversity sued the U.S. Forest Service, accusing them of violating the Endangered Species Act, National Environmental Policy Act and its land-management plans for the Siuslaw National Forest and Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area.

U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken sharply criticized the agency in a Sunday opinion, calling its decisions arbitrary and capricious and finding it failed to meaningfully protect the threatened coastal marten and its habitat.

“The Forest Service is imbued with the duty to conserve listed species and critical habitat,” Aiken wrote. “Yet, the record contains abundant evidence that the agency’s actions not only increased the risk of jeopardy to a threatened species, but also that those actions facilitated the unnecessary destruction of habitat and public resources.”

The Forest Service authorized special-use permits for Oregon Dunes events such as DuneFest and UTV Takeover, which draw thousands of people to camp and compete in day and night races.

Aiken found the Forest Service violated the Endangered Species Act by failing to initiate environmental consultation for the permits after the coastal marten was listed as threatened.

“The seriousness of the agency’s errors is grave,” Aiken, a Bill Clinton appointee, wrote. “The coastal marten was listed in 2020. And this litigation commenced in 2024. It has been six years since the marten was listed as a threatened species and the Forest Service still has not initiated consultation for either project.”

The judge also granted the plaintiff’s motion for preliminary injunction that provides a curfew on an upcoming UTV Takeover event scheduled for Aug. 11-16 in Winchester Bay, Oregon.

She also found the agency failed to reinitiate environmental consultation for its 2015 Routes Project, which expanded off-road vehicle activity in the dunes.

The conservation group celebrated the judge’s decision.

“Common sense limits on off-highway use in the Oregon Dunes benefit rare martens, as well as all of us who love exploring this truly special place,” said Tala DiBenedetto, a staff attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “This win will protect marten mothers and their young to ensure a future where they can continue to hunt, climb, play and thrive in the beautiful shore-pine forests they’ve lived in for decades.”

The coastal marten, also known as the Humboldt marten, was once thought extinct after losing 95% of its range to logging and wildfires but was rediscovered in 1996. Scientists estimated only 71 remained in the Oregon Dunes when the species was listed as threatened. Its primary threats include habitat loss, human disturbance and vehicle strikes.

The Forest Service argued the claims were moot because the challenged permits had expired. It also said a 2024 biological evaluation found the permits would have no effect, exempting them from Endangered Species Act consultation requirements.

Aiken rejected those arguments, finding the events were likely to recur and had clear impacts on marten habitat, including vegetation damage, noise from riders and campers and habitat fragmentation.

Critically, these special-use permits take place while coastal marten kits are still denning, the plaintiffs say.

Aiken granted summary judgment for all of the plaintiff’s claims. The two parties were ordered to discuss an interim remedy for injunctive relief for the coastal marten on Monday.

Aiken vacated what she described as the agency’s unlawful decisions and remanded the issue for further analysis. She also blocked the agency from providing more special-use permits for off-road vehicles in the dunes, pending a proper consultation.

A U.S. Forest Service spokesperson did not respond to request for comment on Monday.