Millions of acres of national forest land will continue to be protected from road-building after the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals supported the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, staving off development. Lawyers representing the state of Wyoming and the Colorado Mining Association had claimed the rule was a violation of the 1964 Wilderness Act.
Environmentalists say the ruling is "one of the most significant in decades," The Associated Press reports. Outdoor areas frequented by hunters, fishermen, hikers and campers will be protected, as will the water quality and habitat for animals such as grizzly bears, lynx and Pacific salmon, advocates say. Jane Danowitz, director of the Pew Environment Group's public-lands program, told AP: "Without the roadless rule, protection of these national forests would be left to a patchwork management system that in the past resulted in millions of acres lost to logging, drilling and other industrial development."
Wyoming Republican Gov. Matt Mead and the Colorado mining group told AP they have not yet decided whether or not to appeal this latest decision. A lawsuit concerning the application of this rule in Alaska and another applying to particular areas of Idaho are pending. (Read more)
Environmentalists say the ruling is "one of the most significant in decades," The Associated Press reports. Outdoor areas frequented by hunters, fishermen, hikers and campers will be protected, as will the water quality and habitat for animals such as grizzly bears, lynx and Pacific salmon, advocates say. Jane Danowitz, director of the Pew Environment Group's public-lands program, told AP: "Without the roadless rule, protection of these national forests would be left to a patchwork management system that in the past resulted in millions of acres lost to logging, drilling and other industrial development."
Wyoming Republican Gov. Matt Mead and the Colorado mining group told AP they have not yet decided whether or not to appeal this latest decision. A lawsuit concerning the application of this rule in Alaska and another applying to particular areas of Idaho are pending. (Read more)
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