Roadless Rule Repeal

Date Filed: 11/1/2006
Case Status: Active

California v. U.S. Department of Agriculture

On August 5, 2009, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court decision striking down the Bush Administration’s 2005 State Petitions Rule for roadless areas and reinstated the 2001 Clinton Administration Roadless Rule.  In particular, the Ninth Circuit found that the Forest Service violated NEPA and the ESA when it found that the State Petitions Rule was “merely procedural” and therefore had no environmental impacts.  Because the State Petitions Rule specifically denounced and replaced the highly protective Roadless Rule, the Ninth Circuit found that the State Petitions Rule clearly had environmental effects that were required to be analyzed under NEPA and the ESA.

Related Documents:

Court decision

Co-filers:

The Wilderness Society, California Wilderness Coalition, Forests Forever Foundation, Northcoast Environmental Center, Oregon Natural Resources Fund, Sitka Conservation Society, Siskiyou Regional Education Project, Biodiversity Conservation Alliance, Sierra Club, National Audubon Society, Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Center for Biological Diversity, Environmental Protection Information Center, Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, Pacific Rivers Council, Idaho Conservation League, Conservation NW, and Greenpeace