Sturm College of Law’s Environmental Law Clinic (ELC) successfully blocked a plan to log the Handkerchief Mesa area in the Rio Grande National Forest earlier this month.

The suit, filed in June 2009 in U.S. District Court, was prepared by former Sturm College of Law students Jacob Schlesinger, April Shepherd and Ashley Wilmes. All three graduated by the time the case was heard by U.S. District Court Judge William Martínez.

Third-year law students Mason Brown and Justine Shepherd argued the case in December 2011.

“Not many lawyers get to argue in the Federal District Court. Period. Let alone students, and it’s pretty awesome we won too,” said Brown.

The law students were able to represent Rocky Mountain Wild, a nonprofit conservation advocacy group, due to a program which allows students to work on cases so long as they are mentored and overseen by a bar-passed lawyer. Professor Mike Harris and Professor Kevin Lynch oversaw the students arguments in and outside of the courtroom.

The main arguments, prepared by Schlesinger, April Shepherd and Wilmes, were based around two problems. First, the United States Forest Service (USFS) did not account for the full environmental impact of the logging with regards to local species in the area. Second, they argued the USFS did not properly take samples in the area that shows the forest is not conducive to logging because of overworked soil.

“They failed to account for the impact on the Western Spruce Budworm, a moth larva which feasts on the trees,” said Brown. “They would not be able to regenerate within five years like the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) requires.”

According to both Brown and Justine Shepherd, the government failed to properly assess environmental factors in allowing the permit.

“The soil compaction standards under the NFMA requires soil to not be determinately compacted,” said Justine Shepherd. “[Soil compaction] makes it harder for the trees to grow. They were authorizing logging in determinately compacted areas.”