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Federal Appeals Court Upholds Roadless Area Protections

Case Updates:

August 12, 2009

A coalition of environmental groups, including Sierra Club, achieved a monumental victory for our nation’s forests when, on August 5, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Clinton Administration’s 2001 Roadless Rule. The decision will result in the protection of more than 40 million acres of wild national forests and grasslands and put an end to the Bush Administration’s efforts to open these remaining and unspoiled natural areas to new road building, logging, and development.

The Appellate Court agreed that the Bush-era policy for roadless areas, which allowed states to petition for their own, less stringent, roadless protections, violated the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act. The Court rejected the Forest Service’s argument that state petitions would have no effect on the environment, and agreed that the Bush rule was illegal because it failed to undergo the necessary environmental review.

With protections for roadless areas reinstated, the Obama administration is free to pursue its pledge to “support and defend” the 2001 Rule. Earthjustice represented the Sierra Club and other plaintiff groups in the lawsuit.

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