Earth Law Center and Orca Allies Ask Court to Stop Logging While it Appeals DNR’s Decision to Log Nearly 400 Acres in the Elwha Watershed
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: September 24, 2026
CONTACT:
Elizabeth Dunne, Esq.
Earth Law Center
edunne@earthlaw.org
Howard Garrett
Orca Network
howard@orcanetwork.org
Earth Law Center and Orca Allies Ask Court to Stop Logging While it Appeals DNR’s Decision to Log Nearly 400 Acres in the Elwha Watershed
PORT ANGELES, WA - The Parched and Tree Well timber sales would log nearly 400 acres of our oldest remaining forests in and around the Elwha Watershed. The lawsuit brought by Earth Law Center, along with Center for Whale Research and Orca Network, challenges the legality of these sales, including the fact that DNR never considered an alternative to clearcut logging. DNR treats the forest as a commodity rather than a living ecosystem interconnected to the health of the entire watershed and all its inhabitants.
Earlier this month, Clallam County Superior Court Judge Stanley ruled in favor of DNR and allowed the sales to proceed. Judge Stanley used a form order provided by DNR. The order does not contain any explanation as to the reasoning behind the court’s order.
Earth Law Center is now asking the court to stop all logging while its challenge to the Parched and Tree Well timber sales is heard by the appellate court. The court hearing on this request is set for Sept. 25 at 1:30pm in the Clallam County Superior Court, 223 E 4th Street, Port Angeles, WA 98363 and also available on Zoom (Meeting number: 976-7336-6377 & Passcode: 12345). A pause on logging is the only way that Earth Law Center will have a full and fair opportunity to challenge the trial court’s decision in a higher court before the trees are gone forever.
DNR has full authority to halt Murphy's logging operations today and agree to the request to stop logging while the appeal is heard. Yet, DNR, led by Commissioner Upthegrove and Murphy are aggressively challenging this request. DNR and Murphy have teamed up to ask that Earth Law Center post a $379,000 bond in order to keep the trees alive while its appeal is heard. They oppose any kind of delay.
In several other instances, DNR and logging companies have used this tactic to avoid appellate court review of timber sales altogether. They log before the court can hear the appeal, and the court then dismisses the case as “moot” since the trees have all been cut. Trial court judges are elected and serve in the counties that benefit from money from the timber sales, whereas the WA Court of Appeals Division II is in Tacoma, WA.
In court documents filed Sept. 23, Murphy shared that on Sept. 20 they mobilized to re-commence road building in Parched. In May 2025, the Olympic Forest Defenders organized a 40-day blockade and tree sit in the Parched sale area that gained national attention. Earth Law Center has partnered with the Elwha Legacy Forests Coalition to hold several events to raise awareness about the ecological and cultural significance of these forests, including a water blessing ceremony near the Tree well timber sale in Nov. 2024.
If Judge Stanley denies the request on Friday, it’s not the end. Earth Law Center will make the same request to stop the logging to the appellate court. Earth Law Center and allies are asking people to call Commissioner Upthegrove - (360) 902-1000 - or send him a message via DNR’s website here and ask him to stop this logging in the Elwha Watershed.
Lower Elwha Klallam tribal citizen Tashena Francis leading water blessing ceremony near Tree Well timber sale. Nov. 2024. (Photo by Scott McGee/Forest2Sea.com). Read more on our blog.
The Parched timber sale forest (Photo by Scott McGee/Forest2Sea.com
About Earth Law Center. Founded in 2008, Earth Law Center (ELC) is a cutting-edge 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to give Nature a voice in the legal system. ELC’s dedicated staff and volunteers work to advance Earth-centered laws (Rights of Nature, human environmental rights, legal guardianships of Nature, rights of future generations, animal rights, etc.) and community-led movements that respect and protect all life on the planet. Working toward a paradigm shift in traditional environmental law, ELC engages in ecocentric movements at the intersection of law, policy, movement-building, and culture, with legal teams, programs, and partners in Latin America, Africa, Europe, Asia, Oceania, and North America.