State of Wyoming wins victory in ongoing battle over roadless
initiatives
CHEYENNE - Gov. Jim Geringer called U.S. District Court Judge
Clarence A. Brimmer's ruling a significant victory for open and
honest government since the ruling will allow the state to
investigate whether or not secret meetings were held between the
Clinton Administration and special interest groups to develop and
direct the outcome of the roadless plan. On April 16, Judge Brimmer
denied the federal government and special interest groups' motions
regarding Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) violations. FACA is
enacted in part to avoid biased proposals and to ensure public
oversight of agency policy decisions. Wyoming claims that the
Roadless Actions were developed in violation of FACA, because the
Clinton Administration met secretly with certain advocacy groups
for the specific purpose of unilaterally mandating Forest Service
policy related to at least 58.5 million acres of land, about 9
million of which are in Wyoming. "Judge Brimmer's decision is a
major victory in the state's fight against an illegal federal
scheme to permanently prevent a proactive approach to forest health
and land management in the national forests," Geringer said.
"Through Judge Brimmer's decision, we might finally be able to
uncover the extent to which the Clinton Administration's policy for
our federal lands was controlled by only one viewpoint. The Clinton
roadless scheme circumvented federal rulemaking procedures in an
attempt to create de facto wilderness areas, a power specifically
reserved for Congress under the Wilderness Act. These roadless
initiatives follow a rigid, narrow policy of non-management that
will harm Wyoming's ability to manage our state lands in national
forest areas, aggravate existing health problems in the national
forest lands and increase the risk of wildfires." "Wyoming is now
leading the national charge against the roadless actions," Geringer
said. "While similar cases have been filed in several other states
against the Forest Service regarding one or more of the roadless
actions, these cases are currently stayed pending a decision from
the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals." Wyoming filed a complaint for
declaratory judgment and injunctive relief in U.S. District Court
in May 2001. The lawsuit asks the court to stop the implementation
of the Roadless Area Conservation Final Rule, revisions to the
National Forest Management Act Planning Regulations, the Forest
Transportation System Final Administrative Policy and the National
Forest System Road Management Rule. The Forest Service's Roadless
Initiative's proposed action and preferred alternative would
prohibit road construction and reconstruction in the portions of
inventoried roadless areas.
post a comment
Untitled Document
Sponsored Links
Off-Road Videos - Check out over ten years of extreme 4x4 action, product testing and the Off Road Nation at play. Baja racing to rock crawling, ATVs in the sand to motorcycles in the dirt, it's all here. Rate them, share them and upload your own.
ATV Reviews - Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, Polaris, Kawasaki, Can-Am. First rides to long-term tests, check out the latest in ATVs, UTVs and Side-by-Side vehicles of every make and model. Read expert opinions and follow custom project vehicles.
