FORESTS: Appeals court upholds Idaho's 9M-acre roadless rule
Phil Taylor, E&E reporter
E&E PM: Monday, January 7, 2013
A federal appeals court today upheld an Idaho rule protecting 9.3 million acres of roadless forests in the state, drawing mixed reactions from environmental groups that remain split on the issue.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a 2011 ruling by U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill that the Forest Service had not violated the Endangered Species Act in allowing Idaho to move forward with a state-based alternative to the Clinton administration's roadless rule (E&ENews PM, Jan. 31, 2011). That 2001 rule granted blanket protection to about 58 million acres of federal land nationwide.
The 2006 Idaho plan, which at the time was the nation's only state-tailored alternative to the Clinton rule, split 9.3 million acres of inventoried roadless forests into different categories based on various attributes of those lands, applying different management "themes" to each category.
It was supported by the state, its counties, miners, an Indian tribe and some environmental groups, including the Idaho Conservation League and Trout Unlimited.
The Idaho Conservation League said today's ruling affirms the work of thousands who helped develop Idaho's roadless rule and will ensure the backcountry is preserved for hunters, campers, hikers and anglers.
"While the Idaho Conservation League and Idaho's leaders don't always see eye-to-eye on forest management issues, we all appreciate the importance of protecting Idaho's rugged backcountry," the group said today in a statement. "What may be most noteworthy is that the courts have endorsed the collaborative effort that went into the Idaho Roadless Rule."
But the Idaho rule was opposed by the Wilderness Society, Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Natural Resources Defense Council and Sierra Club, among others, which argued it fell short of the blanket protections afforded under the Clinton rule.
Critics argued the state roadless rule was buttressed by a flawed Fish and Wildlife Service finding that grizzlies and caribou would not be harmed by certain development activities authorized under the roadless plan (Land Letter, Oct. 14, 2010).
The Idaho rule, plaintiffs argued, eliminated protection for 400,000 acres of Idaho's primitive backcountry and exposed more than 5 million acres to greater threat of development.
"Time will tell if Idaho's national forest roadless areas are truly protected under the Idaho roadless rule," said Craig Gehrke, Idaho regional director for the Wilderness Society. "TWS remains committed to the protection of those areas and will work with the U.S. Forest Service to insure that any proposed actions in roadless areas fully protect the values inherent in the areas."
He said plaintiffs have not discussed whether further legal action will be taken.
Colorado is the only other state to craft its own state-tailored roadless plan under a George W. Bush policy that was later ruled unlawful. Both states' plans were grandfathered.
