Legal Notes

January 5, 2010 - By Nada Culver, The Wilderness Society   BackgroundIn September, a federal judge rejected a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) plan for managing millions of acres of public land in the California desert, and invalidated the use of the “Decision Tree,” a flowchart-like tool that the BLM had adopted to determine where ORV use was appropriate.  In the Center for Biological Diversity, et. al. v. U.S. Bureau of Land Management, et. al., 2009 U.S. Dist.

September 30, 2009 - By Mike Anderson, The Wilderness Society, and Sarah Peters   The Roadless Area Conservation Rule was adopted by the U.S. Forest Service on January 12, 2001, after the most extensive public involvement in the history of federal rulemaking.  The Roadless Rule generally prohibited road construction and timber cutting in 58.5 million acres of inventoried roadless areas, covering about 30 percent of the National Forest System.  The Roadless Rule came under a coordinated and sustained attack by the timber industry and its allies immediately after it was adopted in January 2001, and over eight years later, a final resolution has not yet been reached.

December 4, 2008 - Mac Lacey & Sarah Peters   The Oregon Natural Desert Association (ONDA) won a big victory for us all in July 2008, forcing the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to evaluate wilderness characteristics in its revision of resource management plans.  The decision also expanded National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) case law on the range of alternatives that should be evaluated in agency management plans. The Court’s Ruling

July 19, 2007 - Karl Forsgaard     In May 2007, conservation groups and the U.S. Forest Service settled a lawsuit involving an enjoined motorcycle project in proposed Wilder­ness in Washington State. The settlement and final judgment leaves in place the federal court’s June 2006 published decision and permanent injunction that requires a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), not a mere EA, before construction of the full Mad River off-road vehicle (ORV) project [The Mountaineers v. U.S. Forest Service, 445 F. Supp. 2d 1235 (W.D. Wash. 2006)].

December 11, 2005 - Ronni Flannery   More than 700 miles of user-created routes have been closed to motor­ized vehicles on the Eldorado National Forest in California as a result of a lawsuit brought by the Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation, Center for Biological Diversity, and California Wilderness Coalition. The user-created routes will remain closed at least until the Forest Service demonstrates compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), at which point it is possible that some will be opened for legal, authorized use. Case Background

March 2, 2004 - Brett Brownscombe   The cultural explosion and growing impacts of motorized recreation, namely al- terrain vehicles (ATVs), has a way of attracting strange bedfellows.

June 5, 2003 - Steve Bloch   In a decision that the New York Times heralded as one of the country's two most important environmental victories of the year, a federal district judge in Washington, D.C., ruled in December 2002 that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) violated the National Environmental Policy (NEPA) when it authorized the Yellow Cat seismic project. Because of this decision, the BLM now will have to complete a proper environmental review before authorizing any additional seismic operations in the project area.

December 11, 2002 - Derek Goldman   The US Forest Service recently proposed a significant revision to Chapter 30 of the Environmental Policy and Procedures Handbook - the agency’s rules for implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) [FSH 1909.15]. The revision, called an interim directive, would allow the agency to utilize a broader application of the categorical exclusion (CE) to avoid preparing an Environmental Assessment (EA) for certain projects. Its most dangerous aspect would permit an agency official to invoke a CE even when extraordinary circumstances are present.

November 10, 2000 - TJ Brown   Originating with the 1866 mining law, RS 2477 has become a major headache for federal land management agencies and conservationists alike. In 1976 Congress repealed this outdated statute with passage of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), however, Congress left open a loophole by recognizing prior and existing rights. Off-Road Vehicle (ORV) enthusiasts are using this loophole and attempting to drive a legion of ORVs through it on “phantom roads.” For background see The RIPorter 2.5.

April 3, 1999 - Felice Pace   In an important case with far-reaching implications and a useful precedent for road-rippers, the Klamath Forest Alliance (KFA) recently won their lawsuit challenging ERFO-funded road reconstruction on the Klamath National Forest (KNF). The District Court decision, explained below, is the first major victory for conservationists who have sought to stop ERFO’s blanket exemption of environmental reviews. Background About ERFO