Wrangell assembly to intervene in two more timber lawsuits

The Wrangell Borough Assembly voted last Wednesday to support the Big Thorne Timber Sale by intervening in two more lawsuits seeking to block the Prince of Wales Island logging contract.

The assembly voted in October to pay $5,000 to intervene, or formally participate, in one of the three lawsuits by conservation groups trying to block the sale. Assembly members said they wanted to support the Big Thorne sale because of its potential to affect future cuts, including a proposed Wrangell Island sale.

Assembly Member Julie Decker said Wrangell should participate because any of the suits could stop the timber sale.

“If our point is to support the Big Thorne timber sale that the Forest Service has put out, I think we should file on all three,” Decker said. “And that’s what we agreed to with the first one. It’s not going to cost us anything more.”

Although there is no initial cost to join the additional lawsuits, Borough Manager Jeff Jabusch highlighted possible future costs of intervention.

“The worst case would be if the other party that’s filing the lawsuit to stop the timber sale, if they were to win, there’s always that possibility that they could go after recovering attorney fees, and everybody involved in the suit could share in that,” Jabusch said.

The suits were brought by the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, the Alaska Wilderness League and the Sierra Club. The groups are trying to stop the Forest Service sale of 95 million board feet of timber between Thorne Bay and Coffman Cove.

Jabusch said if the lawsuit drags out for a long time, Wrangell could also have to pay more to continue as a participant.

Assembly Member Stephen Prysunka said if the borough participates in more lawsuits, there is a greater chance it will be liable for more costs in the future.

“We need to be very cautious about how we proceed so that we don’t become embroiled in a boondoggle that we can’t get out of,” Prysunka said. “And we are a party to a larger process that we bought into with our original $5,000 that may compel us to put out more money.”

Prysunka voted against filing in the two additional lawsuits. Mayor David Jack and Assembly Members Julie Decker and Pam McCloskey voted for intervention.

Several community members spoke against intervention before the original vote to join the first lawsuit.

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