Lawsuit filed over Canadian timber agreement

Environmentalists are filing a lawsuit this week against the federal government for what they say was an illegal and unfair agreement with Canadian leaders to settle a dispute over timber sales. The environmental groups Conservation Northwest and the Center for Biological Diversity are filing their suit in U.S. District Court in Seattle and in the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York. The suit is focused on two of the three beneficiaries of the tariff deal -- the U.S. Endowment for Forestry & Communities and the American Forest Foundation. The money "helped us and other organizations with whom we work to break new ground in sustainability,"said Larry Wiseman, AFF president and CEO.