U.S. Judge Upholds Moratorium on Road Building

***********************************************

WORLDWIDE FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS

***********************************************

Forest Networking a Project of Forests.org

http://forests.org/ -- Forest Conservation Archives

http://forests.org/web/ -- Discuss Forest Conservation

1/11/00

OVERVIEW & COMMENTARY

In an important ruling, a U.S. federal judge upheld the current

temporary moratorium on road building by the Forest Service in

undeveloped areas. This should assist in laying the groundwork for a

permanent ban on road construction in roadless areas of the National

Forests, as is now being considered.

g.b.

*******************************

RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:

Title: No roads where the deer roam, federal judge rules

Source: Environmental News Network, http://www.enn.com/

Date: January 11, 2000

Byline: Robinson Shaw

A federal judge has upheld the U.S. Forest Service's 18-month

moratorium on road building and reconstruction on many of the

nation's inventoried but undeveloped areas.

By rejecting claims made by the timber industry, U.S. Federal

District Court Judge Clarence Brimmer on Friday upheld the Forest

Service's authority to continue its uniform regulatory procedures for

management of 50 million acres of inventoried areas without roads.

The court also ruled that the timber industry lacked the authority to

raise arguments against such a moratorium.

"Rather than go through such a pointlessly repetitive exercise, the

court ruled that the chief of the Forest Service properly adopted the

broad moratorium through an agency-wide rule," said Jim Angell of the

Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund.

The moratorium was challenged in court by the Wyoming timber industry

on the grounds that a suspension in road-building and reconstruction

could only be adopted on a case-by-case basis and not uniformly for

all of the country's national forest lands.

In March 1999, the Forest Service imposed the moratorium to re-

evaluate its approach to managing more than 380,000 miles of roads

that crisscross national forest land. The service has used the time

to consider the overwhelming evidence that its road system is the

biggest cause of environmental damage to national forests, according

to the Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund. Roads on national forest land

are principally used by logging trucks.

The service is preparing a new policy that will redefine how roads

will be built and maintained on national forest lands. There is

strong public sentiment for the protection of areas without roads.

Conservationists cite clean water, biological diversity, wildlife

habitat and dispersed recreation as reasons for a moratium extending

beyond 18 months.

The Forest Service readily acknowledges it doesn't have the resources

to manage the country's existing road system. An estimated $8.4

billion worth of road reconstruction and maintenance waits to be

done, according to the service.

"Fish, elk, and grizzly bears alike all benefit from the protection

of our remaining roadless areas. Everyone who fishes, hunts or spends

time in the backcountry should applaud Judge Brimmer's decision,"

said Angell.

On Oct. 13, 1999, President Clinton directed the Forest Service to

study the impact of a permanent ban on road construction in all

inventoried areas without roads. Based on public comment and

extensive analysis of the remaining 50 million acres of inventoried

land, the service plans to release a new proposal and draft

environmental impact statement this spring.

The environmental impact statement will outline various alternatives

for the management of areas now without roads. After more public

comment period and analysis, the service will release a final plan

and environmental impact statement, likely before the end of 2000.

Conservation groups in support of the moratorioum include the Wyoming

Outdoor Council, Northwest Wyoming Resource Council, Sierra Club, The

Wilderness Society, Bighorn Forest Users Coalition, Greater

Yellowstone Coalition, Biodiversity Associates, Wyoming Wilderness

Association, Wyoming Wildlife Federation, American Wildlands,

American Lands Alliance, Pacific Rivers Council, Oregon Natural

Resources Council, and U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

###RELAYED TEXT ENDS###

This document is a PHOTOCOPY for educational, personal and non-

commercial use only. Recipients should seek permission from the

source for reprinting. All efforts are made to provide accurate,

timely pieces; though ultimate responsibility for verifying all

information rests with the reader. Check out our Gaia's Forest

Conservation Archives & Portal at URL= http://forests.org/

Networked by Forests.org, Inc., gbarry@forests.org