COURT UPHOLDS OFF-ROAD VEHICLE RESTRICTIONS BY FOREST SERVICE

After a two-year wait, a federal judge in Denver issued an important
decision reinforcing the Forest Service's ability to restrict off-road
vehicle use in order to prevent environmental damage. The Forest Service
sought to end cross-country travel by motorized vehicle use on a portion of
the Routt National Forest in northern Colorado, instead limiting motorized
vehicles to designated routes. The Forest Service acted after concluding
that cross-country motorized travel in the area was causing considerable
environmental damage.

The Colorado Off-Highway Vehicle Coalition sued to protest these
restrictions, however, arguing that the Forest Service was required to
conduct an environmental analysis (under the National Environmental Policy
Act) for each individual user-created route in the area. The court
disagreed, finding that the Forest Service has the authority to restrict
motorized use in an area if its environmental analysis produces evidence
that damage is occurring.

A coalition of conservation groups, including Colorado Wild, The Wilderness
Society, Wildlands CPR, and Colorado Mountain Club, intervened in the
lawsuit on behalf of the Forest Service. The coalition was represented by
Earthjustice.

And, on the heels of its latest defeat, COHVCO announced last week another
lawsuit aimed at keeping off-road vehicle routes open at any cost. The
lawsuit claims the Forest Service illegally ended motorized use on the
Arapaho Ridge Trail despite two years of documenting severe and increasing
environmental damage.