A Sierra Nevada conservation group is suing the state over its approval of logging plans by the state´s largest timber company.

Ebbetts Pass Forest Watch is suing the Department of Forestry for approving plans by Sierra Pacific Industries to log three areas in El Dorado County.

The company plans to use a practice it calls “visual retention,” which leaves several trees on each acre to soften the visual impact.

The environmental group says the impact on water and wildlife is the same as if the land was clear-cut. The company and the Forestry Department say they can´t comment on a suit they haven´t seen.