Keep Them Roadless!
September 20, 2006:
Update: Judge Reinstates Original Roadless Rule Marking Huge Victory for Americans, Wild Forests
Today the federal District Court of Northern California ordered the Bush Administration to reinstate the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule to protect almost 50 million acres of National Forests and grasslands across the lower 48 states and Puerto Rico from road construction, logging, and other harmful development.
Judge Elizabeth Laporte essentially ruled that the Bush Administration violated both the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act by when it repealed the Roadless Rule and put into place their own rule without any substantial analysis or need. This court ruling is a tremendous victory for all Americans who value America's great natural areas and reverses the Bush administration's efforts to open these last great natural areas to development interests.
The case was brought by a coalition of 20 conservation groups including the Sierra Club and represented by attorneys from Earthjustice. This case was also joined by a separate filing by the Governors of Washington, Oregon, New Mexico and California. Kristen Boyles, the attorney who argued the case for the environmental groups on August 1, said, "The sad fact is that the Bush administration gave a timber industry lobbyist a high White House appointment and put him in charge of reversing the government's policy to protect our last great roadless natural areas. They made these changes in a flatly illegal way and the court caught them."
The ruling marks a huge victory for America's last remaining wild forests and the millions of Americans who have spoken out in support of protecting these special places for future generations. These wild forests are increasingly scarce unspoiled places that provide some of the highest quality fish and wildlife habitat, backcountry recreation and clean water supplies in the country. The ruling also underscores the strong framework of the Roadless Rule, the basis of which was overwhelming scientific and economic evidence and public opinion in favor of protecting America's last wild forests.
Still at question is the long term status of the roadless areas in the Tongass National Forest in Alaska. In 2003, the Bush administration exempted the Tongass from the roadless rule by creating a separate amendment that was based on the validity of the Tongass Land Management Plan. That plan, commonly known as "TLMP," was declared illegal in a separate court case earlier this year. However, five million acres in the Chugach National Forest in Alaska are once again protected by today's ruling.
Read the full press release.
Background on the Roadless Rule.
Roadless Rule litigation timeline
Sierra Club Lawsuits:
Judge Reinstates the Roadless Rule; 58.5 Million Acres of National Forests Now Protected
Roadless Rule Factsheet
(PDF, 3 pages, 60kb).
Photo: Old-growth trees in the Tongass National Forest, Alaska. Betsy Goll/Sierra Club collection.
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