Is Fate of WA’s Forests in Hands of WY Judge?
Chris Thomas, News Director
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Seattle, WA – Washington's 2 million acres of roadless national forest land are in legal limbo, now that a federal judge in Wyoming has decided the "Roadless Rule" should not have been enacted back in 2001. He handed down his decision in a case filed by the State of Wyoming, which wants the ability to build roads in national forests to allow logging and oil and gas drilling.
The law firm Earthjustice argued in favor of keeping the Roadless Rule. Attorney Todd True says this case is the latest in a long series of efforts to weaken protections for federal land.
"The Wyoming case was one of nine cases that timber and mining and grazing interests filed around the country in 2001 to try to block the original rule that protected these roadless areas. All of the other cases have been put to bed, and none of them resulted in a ruling against the Roadless Rule."
True adds that the Roadless Rule is in line with public opinion.
"The one thing that is abundantly clear in all of this legal back-and-forth is that the public actually wants these areas protected. These are areas the public recognizes as being ecologically, spiritually, biologically and otherwise, very important."
Earthjustice has filed an appeal on behalf of several conservation groups.
Judge Clarence Brimmer based his ruling on the argument that, when the Roadless Rule was first being considered, there wasn't enough opportunity for public comment. True disagrees, saying that at the time, hundreds of public hearings were held and more than a million comments were received, most favoring the rule.
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