The Obama administration today appealed a Wyoming federal district
court ruling that struck down the national roadless rule. The appeal
will go to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.
The Roadless rule, originally adopted by the Clinton
administration in 2001, protected 58.5 million acres of America’s
pristine roadless national forest lands.
The timber industry first challenged the Roadless Rule in federal court
in Idaho. The Bush administration refused to defend it, and the court
temporarily suspended the Roadless Rule. That suspension came to an end
in 2003 when environmental groups won an appeal in the Ninth Circuit that reinstated the rule’s protections.
Separate litigation in federal court in Wyoming
then again suspended the Roadless Rule. However, the Bush administration repealed the rule outright in 2005. That repeal was ruled illegal last week by a federal court.
Now the Obama administration is taking steps to reinstate the popular environmental rule in Wyoming.
"We hope the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals will agree that the Wyoming
ruling blocking the roadless rule was wrong. The Obama administration
is honoring its commitment to uphold and defend nationwide roadless
area protections," Earthjustice attorney Jim Angell said in a
statement.
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