landusepbb
08-19-2004, 06:01 PM
Multiple use group's injunction denied
By Jim Mann
The Daily Inter Lake
A federal judge has rejected a request from Montanans for Multiple Use to halt forest plan amendments and road closures on national forest lands.
District Judge Richard Roberts held a hearing Monday in Washington, D.C., on the request for a preliminary injunction, which was associated with a lawsuit filed by Montanans for Multiple Use and 13 co-plaintiffs in June 2003.
While the lawsuit was aimed at the Flathead National Forest in particular, the injunction request applied to all national forests. Montanans for Multiple Use, a group based in the Flathead Valley, contends that road closures, obliterated roads and improperly executed forest plan amendments have combined to create an unacceptable fire risk to national forests and surrounding communities.
Roberts, however, ruled that the group had "failed to prove immediate danger of harm due to continuing USFS road obliterations and forest plan amendments," according to a press release from Montanans for Multiple Use.
"Many Montanans living next to high fire hazard national forests or blocked from access for their favorite recreation would not agree with Judge Roberts," said Dave Skinner, a Montanans for Multiple Use board member.
The group's president, Fred Hodgeboom, said efforts are already under way to schedule an evidentiary hearing sometime this fall pertaining to the lawsuit.
"The injunction request was an optional extra step in the litigation process that we needed to pursue," he said.
He said the plaintiffs, which include Flathead and Sanders county governments, are confident the evidence will prevail in support of the lawsuit.
"We know that this will be a long, hard-fought case and that regardless of who prevails in district court, the case will likely be resolved on appeal," Hodgeboom said.
The lawsuit charges that the U.S. Forest Service has improperly amended the Flathead National Forest's long-term management plan in a "piecemeal fashion" that does not comply with the law.
Forest plans are supposed to be amended every 15 years, but the Flathead and many other national forests have failed to do so. The Flathead Forest Plan was adopted 18 years ago, and it has been amended 24 times since then.
Several environmental groups have intervened in the case, including the Swan View Coalition, Wildlands Coalition for Prevention of Roads, the Montana Chapter of the Sierra Club and Defenders of Wildlife.
Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com
http://www.dailyinterlake.com/NewsEngine/SelectStory_AD.tpl?command=search&db=news.db&eqskudata=48-817626-39
By Jim Mann
The Daily Inter Lake
A federal judge has rejected a request from Montanans for Multiple Use to halt forest plan amendments and road closures on national forest lands.
District Judge Richard Roberts held a hearing Monday in Washington, D.C., on the request for a preliminary injunction, which was associated with a lawsuit filed by Montanans for Multiple Use and 13 co-plaintiffs in June 2003.
While the lawsuit was aimed at the Flathead National Forest in particular, the injunction request applied to all national forests. Montanans for Multiple Use, a group based in the Flathead Valley, contends that road closures, obliterated roads and improperly executed forest plan amendments have combined to create an unacceptable fire risk to national forests and surrounding communities.
Roberts, however, ruled that the group had "failed to prove immediate danger of harm due to continuing USFS road obliterations and forest plan amendments," according to a press release from Montanans for Multiple Use.
"Many Montanans living next to high fire hazard national forests or blocked from access for their favorite recreation would not agree with Judge Roberts," said Dave Skinner, a Montanans for Multiple Use board member.
The group's president, Fred Hodgeboom, said efforts are already under way to schedule an evidentiary hearing sometime this fall pertaining to the lawsuit.
"The injunction request was an optional extra step in the litigation process that we needed to pursue," he said.
He said the plaintiffs, which include Flathead and Sanders county governments, are confident the evidence will prevail in support of the lawsuit.
"We know that this will be a long, hard-fought case and that regardless of who prevails in district court, the case will likely be resolved on appeal," Hodgeboom said.
The lawsuit charges that the U.S. Forest Service has improperly amended the Flathead National Forest's long-term management plan in a "piecemeal fashion" that does not comply with the law.
Forest plans are supposed to be amended every 15 years, but the Flathead and many other national forests have failed to do so. The Flathead Forest Plan was adopted 18 years ago, and it has been amended 24 times since then.
Several environmental groups have intervened in the case, including the Swan View Coalition, Wildlands Coalition for Prevention of Roads, the Montana Chapter of the Sierra Club and Defenders of Wildlife.
Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com
http://www.dailyinterlake.com/NewsEngine/SelectStory_AD.tpl?command=search&db=news.db&eqskudata=48-817626-39