Earth First
October 2012
The state of Wyoming and the Colorado Mining Association said closing so much forestland to development has had serious consequences for residents of Western states and the logging, mining and drilling industries.
The U.S. Supreme Court has turned away an appeal challenging a federal
rule that bars development on 50 million acres of roadless areas in national
forests.
The justices said Monday they will leave in place a federal appeals court
decision that upheld the so-called roadless rule that took effect late in
the presidency of Bill Clinton.
The state of Wyoming and the Colorado Mining Association said closing so
much forestland to development has had serious consequences for residents of
Western states and the logging, mining and drilling industries.
Supporters of the rule said the nation’s forests need protection from
development to preserve pristine areas that provide wildlife and natural
resource habitat for hunting, fishing and recreation.
The challenge centered on the contention that the U.S. Forest Service
essentially declared forests to be wilderness areas, a power that rests with
Congress under the 1964 Wilderness Act.
The U.S. Forest Service currently manages more than 190 million acres of
land used for multiple purposes that must comply with strict rules on land
use changes spelled out in the federal Wilderness Act and National
Environmental Policy Act.
The roadless rule enacted under Clinton in 2001 had been upheld earlier by
both the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the San
Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit in separate cases.
The 10th Circuit overturned Cheyenne, Wyoming-based U.S. District Judge
Clarence Brimmer who had decided the rule created a de facto wilderness
area.
Return to Environmental Articles