Wyoming Roadless Rule Intervention

Date Filed: 1/1/2007
Case Status: Active

Wyoming v. U.S. Department of Agriculture

On October 21, 2011, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule as the law governing 49 million acres of inventoried roadless areas located on the nation’s national forests and grasslands. The ruling overturned a lower district court’s decision enjoining the 2001 rule in August 2008, representing a significant conservation victory and closure to another prong of this long-standing and hard fought legal campaign.  The Tenth Circuit has also rejected the State of Wyoming’s request for en banc review of this decision.

Unfortunately, threats to the Roadless Rule remain.  Following our March 2011 success in our challenge to the Tongass Roadless Rule Exemption, the State of Alaska initiated a new suit in the federal district court for Washington, D.C., challenging the Roadless Rule.  Defenders has intervened in this challenge and will continue to defend the Roadless Rule.