SACRAMENTO, Calif.— In response to a lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, Save the American River Association and American River Trees, a federal court has issued an injunction blocking the Army Corps of Engineers from cutting down hundreds of trees along Sacramento’s Lower American River.

More than 700 trees, including some heritage oaks that are over a hundred years old, would have been chopped down.

“I’m grateful this injunction will keep the forest of the Lower American River intact and healthy,” said Justin Augustine, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “The court ruled correctly that the Army Corps must look at options to prevent erosion without sacrificing the forest's heritage oaks that are so important to both Sacramento's wildlife and people. Our hope is that this ruling pushes the Corps towards a more holistic approach that protects these irreplaceable natural areas instead of cutting them down.”

The project sought to address erosion by cutting down forest along the river’s banks and replacing it with giant, boulder-sized rocks known as rip-rap. The court found that the Corps had promised to analyze an alternative that would prevent erosion while leaving the forest intact but failed to do so.

Located along the Lower American River between the Howe Avenue Bridge and Larchmont Park, the forest is one of the most popular recreational areas in the Sacramento region for hiking, biking, running, fishing and swimming. Despite being close to an urban center, the forest also supports abundant wildlife including bobcats, otters, deer, rare turtles, endangered salmon and numerous species of birds.

The area is protected under both federal and state Wild and Scenic River Acts. These acts are designed to preserve designated rivers and their surrounding forests so that they can be enjoyed in perpetuity.

The court’s decision, issued Nov. 20, noted that the “public interest in preserving the natural landscape along the Lower American River for recreational purposes is especially strong, where, as here, the river is designated for protection under both the federal Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and the California Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.”