Environmentalists in the Mountain West say they are hoping an unexpected deal struck with Dixie National Forest will provide a precedent to keep logging out of projects meant to protect homes from forest fires.

The showdown was the first major challenge to a project categorized under the Healthy Forest Restoration Act, which passed in 2003 with hearty support from the president but opposition from many environmental groups.

The amiable negotiations surprised both groups, said Kevin Mueller, executive director of the Utah Environmental Congress, which took the lead in objecting to the project.

"When we had a meeting to try to resolve this, both parties expected it to be 15 minutes with an 'agree to disagree' and 'we'll see you in court,' " he said. "But when we gave them a proposal and they didn't have a knee-jerk reaction against it, we saw it wasn't going to be impossible."

In fact, both sides said the agreement established a large degree of trust they look forward to building on.

"It created, for the first time, a good relationship between the Dixie National Forest and the UEC, whereas in the past the relationship has always been confrontational," Mueller said.

The project protested last month was intended to clear brush and some trees within a mile and a half of Duck Creek Village, a cabin community about 30 miles east of Cedar City, to protect it from potential forest fires. But the UEC, along with New Mexico-based Forest Guardians, filed an objection to the plan because it would allow logging companies to harvest some larger trees for commercial purposes.

The compromise set a cap of 9 inches on the diameter of trees that could be cut down in most areas. But the conservationists compromised when Dayle Flanigan, district ranger over the area, asked for flexibility up to 18 inches on large trees, mostly white firs that aren't used for commercial purposes, closer to the communities because of the fear that the tops of those trees could present a fire risk.

"The fact that it was more noncommercial trees Dayle was concerned about showed he really was more concerned about the fires," Mueller said.

And according to Bryan Bird at Forest Guardians, the good will that sprang from the deal, and particularly the provision to leave more of the large trees, is a product of the compromise environmentalists hope will spread to other cases.

"This shows the Forest Service does agree these projects need to focus on small trees, and that basically any commercial logging under this act is inappropriate," he said. "It really set the precedent at a time when there are many more projects fairly close to decision time across the West. I hope other forests will follow Dixie's lead on this."