Bill Clinton’s “roadless rule” is back in the headlines again as just a few days back, the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated the 2001 national rule aimed at protecting 49 million acres of roadless forests and grasslands. Specifically, as the name would suggest, the protections come from the rule prohibiting roads on the land.
You may be thinking “didn’t that already go to court?” If so, you’re right. This court decision isn’t the first for the rule. Jim Magagna, Executive Vice President of the Wyoming Stockgrowers Association, tells us that after the rule was put into play by the Clinton Administration back in 2001, it was immediately open to be challenged.
He explained what happened with those challenges in California’s Ninth Circuit and Wyoming’s Tenth Circuit Court.That later decision by Judge Brimmer was then appealed to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and that decision is the one that just came out. The judges in the case ruled against Brimmer’s previous decision and reinstated the roadless rule.
Jim says that the lawyers in this case are undoubtedly looking at ways to appeal this further.
Jim says that there is legislation that has been introduced in both the House and Senate to address this issue by putting a halt to the designations.
© Northern Ag Network 2011
Haylie Shipp
