Forests:
Judge enjoins USFS from drilling, roadbuilding in roadless areas

by Dan Berman, Greenwire senior reporter
— Reprinted with permission from the author — Thursday, November 30, 2006


The Forest Service must stop work on 84 oil and gas projects and an Idaho road project because they violate the Clinton-era roadless rule that was recently reinstated, a federal judge ruled yesterday.

Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Laporte of the U.S. District Court in San Francisco sided with four state attorneys general and 20 environmental groups in blocking the projects approved over the past five years. In September, Laporte reinstated the Clinton-era Roadless Area Conservation Rule that limits roadbuilding, logging and other development in about 50 million acres of national forests.

Laporte's injunction applies to roadbuilding associated with oil and gas drilling on inventoried roadless areas in 14 national forests, mostly in the Rocky Mountains . Only two of the parcels -- in Colorado 's White River National Forest and Utah 's Uinta National Forest have applications pending for a permit to drill. The order also halts construction of two miles of new roads through the Borah Peak roadless area in Idaho 's Salmon-Challis National Forest .

"We're very happy with this ruling, which makes clear that projects begun after the illegal repeal of the 2001 rule are unlawful and must be halted," said Rob Vandermark, director of the National Environmental Trust's Heritage Forests Campaign.

The Justice Department and the Forest Service argued Laporte's ruling should not apply to previously approved projects and argue a further injunction is unnecessary because the Clinton roadless rule is already on the books.

"Given the reinstatement of the rule, a general injunction prohibiting the Forest Service from violating the Rule is no more needed or warranted than an injunction prohibiting the Forest Service from violating the National Forest Management Act or any other statute or regulation that applies to the Forest Service," DOJ argued in a brief earlier this month.

DOJ also argued the Forest Service has operated in good faith during the six years since the Clinton roadless rule was first introduced, noting that for part of that time federal judges barred implementation of the rule.

State petitions

While DOJ and the Agriculture Department determine whether or not to appeal Laporte's rulings on the roadless rule, USDA has decided to entertain petitions under the Administrative Procedures Act, a law that allows interested parties to essentially ask the federal government for a rulemaking procedure. Like its state petition rule, the Forest Service would conduct state-specific NEPA and ESA studies for national forests in each state.

Laporte's Sept. 20 ruling did not focus on the legality of handling state petitions, instead the judge said the Bush administration violated the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act by failing to conduct an environmental analysis of removing the Clinton-era roadless protections on the forests and on endangered species.

Although the ongoing roadless litigation potentially places any petition in limbo, Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth said the process is worthwhile. "If we can get some level of consensus dealing with roadless in any state and we can get it in a way that works for people, it will be useful," Bosworth said. "It will be worth the effort."

Yesterday, Idaho Gov. Jim Risch (R) presented his plan for 9.3 million inventoried roadless acres in Idaho to the Roadless Area Conservation National Advisory Committee. Risch said the meeting shows public lands agencies are interested in hearing from states, especially those like Idaho with a large percentage of federal lands. "I think it's historic in that we're finally getting a say in what happens in our boundaries," Risch said. "It's a new day" (E&ENews PM, Nov. 28).



Take a look at the E&ETV 's video clip interview with Dan Berman:
http://www.eande.tv/main/?show=pm