Great news! Earthjustice sent out the coalition press release below. You
can also find it on our website here:
http://action.sierraclub.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=218006.0
For Immediate Release: October 21, 2011
Contact:
Jim Angell, Earthjustice, 720-272-1179
Tim Preso, Earthjustice, 406-586-9699
Kristen Boyles, Earthjustice, 206-343-7340 x1033
Mike Francis, The Wilderness Society, 202-429-2662
Erik Molvar, Biodiversity Conservation Alliance,
307-742-7978.
Lisa McGee, Wyoming Outdoor Council, 307-413-2790
Virginia Cramer, Sierra Club, 804-225-9113 x102
Federal Court Reinstates Roadless
Rule
Landmark Ruling on Wild National Forest
Protections
DENVER – The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a
long-awaited, landmark decision today, securing critical legal protections
for nearly 50 million acres of pristine National Forest lands. These
forests offer outstanding opportunities for hunting, fishing, and hiking,
produce clean water for thousands of communities nationwide, and provide
irreplaceable habitat for imperiled wildlife species including grizzly bears,
lynx, and Pacific salmon. The appellate court reversed a lower court
decision and affirmed the validity of the Roadless Rule – a 2001 federal rule
that protects wild national forests and grasslands from new road building,
logging, and development.
The appellate court ruled against the State of Wyoming
and industry intervenors and in favor of conservation groups, the Forest
Service, and the States of California, Oregon, and Washington. This
decision formally ends an injunction against the Rule’s enforcement imposed by a
Wyoming federal district court in 2008.
“The public forests we’ve fought so hard to protect
are now safe,” said Tim Preso, an Earthjustice attorney representing the
conservation groups. “All Americans can now know that a key part of our
nation’s natural heritage won’t be destroyed.”
The 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule was the product
of the most comprehensive rulemaking process in the nation’s history, including
more than 2 million comments from members of the public, hundreds of public
hearings and open houses, and a detailed environmental review. The rule
came under relentless attack by logging and resource extraction interests,
certain states, and the Bush administration.
“This is a great victory for the American people who have
spoken out, time and again and in record numbers, for protection of these wild
public lands,” said Mike Francis with The Wilderness Society.
“Roadless areas protect our rivers and streams – protect
our salmon, trout, drinking water,” said Mary Scurlock of Pacific Rivers
Council. “The Roadless Rule is common-sense, and finally the question of
its legality is settled.”
“Roadless areas are valuable and irreplaceable places for
hikers, campers, hunters, anglers, and families; they protect our water
supplies; they provide room for wildlife to live and raise their young; and they
will be increasingly important as safe havens for plants and animals in the face
of rising temperatures and other impacts of climate change,” said Frances Hunt,
Director of the Sierra Club's Resilient Habitats Campaign.
“Roadless Areas represent the last of our wild and
natural National Forest lands, providing multiple benefits including outstanding
wildlife habitat, important supplies of clean water, and some of the best
recreation lands in the country," said Erik Molvar, Wildlife Biologist with
Biodiversity Conservation Alliance of Laramie, Wyoming.
Lisa McGee of Wyoming Outdoor Council stressed the
importance of this decision to her state. “The people of Wyoming love the
outdoors – we’re hunters, fishermen, hikers, and campers -- and roadless areas
give us the best recreation anywhere. This decision ensures that our outdoor
heritage will be safeguarded.”
Earthjustice has led the legal defense of the Roadless
Rule since the first attacks under the Bush/Cheney administration. Against
all odds, this critical legal work has kept the Roadless Rule alive and
prevented destruction of our national forests’ last great wild
places.
Now, conservation, faith, and recreation groups trust
that the Obama administration will support and enforce the 2001 Roadless Rule as
the law of the land, including defending its protections for all 58.5 million
acres of roadless lands in the country. That includes national forests in
Alaska, currently subject to a separate legal challenge and national forests in
Idaho, whose roadless area protections were weakened in
2008.
As a candidate, President Obama said:
“Road construction in national forests can harm fish and
wildlife habitats while polluting local lakes, rivers, and streams. The
Roadless Area Conservation Rule—which was made on the basis of extensive citizen
input—protects 58.5 million acres of national forest from such harmful
building. I will be proud to support and defend it.”
Background on today’s decision
In 2008, the State of Wyoming sued the Forest Service for
a second time to invalidate the Roadless Rule (the rule had been reinstated by a
federal court in California in 2006). A Wyoming federal district court
enjoined the Rule; Earthjustice and the Forest Service appealed that injunction
to the 10th Circuit. The 10th Circuit today joins the 9th Circuit in
finding the Roadless Rule legal.
In this appeal to the 10th Circuit, Earthjustice
represented Wyoming Outdoor Council, The Wilderness Society, Sierra Club,
Biodiversity Conservation Alliance, Pacific Rivers Council, Natural Resources
Defense Council, National Audubon Society, and Defenders of Wildlife. The
States of California, Oregon, and Washington submitted legal papers in support
of the Roadless Rule and the conservation groups’ appeal.
Two other legal actions to protect roadless areas remain
pending: (1) a lawsuit challenging application of the Roadless Rule to national
forests in Alaska, and (2) a lawsuit challenging a separate, less protective
rule that applies only to federal roadless areas in Idaho.