KD Feeback, the attorney filing the brief and co-chair of the Lincoln Restoration Committee, says the goal of entering the lawsuit is to sway the judge to allow the project to go forward “for the simple reason it would prevent exactly what we’re looking at,” in regard to the fires.

The project came out of the collaborative committee and was approved by the Forest Service, he continued.

“There’s literally thousands of acres of dead standing lodgepole that’s begging for a fire and very close to Lincoln,” he said. “I think it’s fair to say that it’s the pervasive belief of not only the Lincoln Restoration Committee but the rest of the people that these giant wildfires are an environmental disaster.

“I think the plaintiffs are crazy and they’re wrapped around lynx habitat and hiding cover, but it’s all on fire now so it’s counterproductive.”

Steve Kelly, Alliance for the Wild Rockies board member, said his organization did not object to the groups entering the lawsuit. The criticisms are similar to what he often hears in response to litigation.