U.S. District Judge Marco Hernandez ruled that, contrary to BARK's claim, the Forest Service did study alternative methods of extracting trees, including helicopter logging. The Forest Service did acknowledge during the argument that an additional 19 tons of sediment would be deposited into streams around the area. BARK program director Russ Plaeger stated "This Collawash River is a critical habitat for threatened Coho salmon" and that the sediment from the logging would be detrimental for them. In April 2014, Judge Hernandez agreed with the Forest Service that any environmental impact would be inconsequential and ruled that logging could begin.
