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W.J. McCabe Chapter Izaak Walton League of America

January 15, 2000

© Duluth News Tribune

By John Myers
Duluth News-Tribune staff writer

MINNEAPOLIS -- A federal district court judge spent a half-hour Friday seemingly poking fun at -- and holes in -- a lawsuit that claims environmentalism is a religion but he didn't issue a decision on whether the case has enough merit to move to trial.

Judge James Rosenbaum heard oral arguments Friday in the suit filed by some northern Minnesota loggers who claim environmental groups are wrongly imposing the ``religion of deep ecology'' on the U.S. Forest Service through efforts to slow and even stop logging in national forests.

Members of Associated Contract Loggers and their Twin Cities attorney, Stephen Young, claim efforts by environmental groups, including the Superior Wilderness Action Network (SWAN), that challenge timber sales in the Superior and Chippewa National forests are really an attempt to impose religion on the Forest Service and on loggers' livelihoods.

The loggers' suit seeks to prevent groups like SWAN from filing challenges or lawsuits to block timber cutting if those efforts are based in any way on the group's religious beliefs. The suit contends such a practice is forbidden the Constitution's guarantee of separation of church and state.

The case has received extensive national publicity because, if allowed to go to trial, it could set enormous legal precedent -- both in how far the government should pursue the separation of church and state and how much a citizen's motives and beliefs can be questioned to block efforts to petition the government. The case also seeks to define a point at which a passion becomes a religion, something many legal scholars say is unworkable.

The suit also seeks damages suffered by Olson Logging Co. in Orr when a timber sale was delayed by a SWAN appeal.

``Deep ecology is a set of religious beliefs,'' Young argued to the judge, saying the effort to stop tree-cutting in northern Minnesota was based more, if not entirely, on philosophical and religious values rather than any science.

But attorneys for the U.S. Forest Service, SWAN and Forest Guardians said that claim is absurd, that the environmental challenges are not based on any so-called ``deep ecology'' but on science and concern for the overall forest health and diversity.

Defense attorneys also argued that, even if environmentalism or ``deep ecology'' was a religion, that doesn't still prevent the groups from using the government's established procedures to try to limit logging.

In fact, defendants claimed in their arguments to Rosenbaum that every citizen -- no matter his or her religious beliefs -- has the right to petition the government, and that right can't be infringed upon.

Defense attorneys asked that the suit be immediately dismissed, first on a technicality because Young missed a deadline for filing a brief and then because the case lacks merit. They noted the Supreme Court already has decided several cases in which religious beliefs or motivations don't block a citizen's right to petition the government.

Rosenbaum seemed to agree, bluntly interrupting Young's opening remarks by asking, ``Stephen, what in the world are you doing?''

Rosenbaum repeatedly questioned Young on whether -- if Young's argument prevailed -- federal judges would have to predetermine a plaintiff's religious beliefs before hearing each case.

Rosenbaum noted that people of different beliefs, or even no religious belief, may still support a cause such as limiting logging on national forests. The judge asked what would happen if ``the American Agnostics Association'' tried to stop tree cutting, making it clear that trying to decipher religious motivation for otherwise non-religious acts is not a job he wanted to take on.

Rosenbaum's remarks echo other legal experts who have said the suit goes too far to limit a right guaranteed by the Constitution. For example, simply because murder was first outlawed in the Ten Commandments doesn't mean the government can't make it a crime.

``By definition, religious beliefs can't be proved. Am I going to hold a trial on whether Adam and Eve existed?'' Rosenbaum asked Young, noting that proving a belief is even harder than proving membership.

``Woody Allen said he first checked how many holidays they had before he picked a religion,'' Rosenbaum quipped.

Young tried to relay his clients' deep concerns on the issue, noting that about 30 loggers, mill workers and others involved in the timber industry attended Friday's hearing despite this being the busiest time of year for loggers. Several made the trip on a bus that left International Falls at 3 a.m. Friday.

While less than 10 percent of all trees cut in Minnesota come from national forests, Young and his clients say the effect of environmental efforts to reduce logging on federal land is hurting loggers and northern Minnesota communities surrounded by federal land.

Young told the judge that ``what we believe is at stake is the future of northern Minnesota,'' to which the judge responded, ``Yes, the whole western world.''

It's not clear when Rosenbaum will issue his decision on whether the lawsuit should proceed toward trial. He is under no deadline but attorneys expect a decision within a week or two.

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