Federal Court of appeals to hear roadless case

[YellowSub1962]

<font color="yellow">anyone else find it interesting that the case is being heard in San Francisco - you know, the city wit hthe highest population of gags in the state of Ca??</font c>

Court To Hear Forest Rules Case

By JOHN HEILPRIN
.c The Associated Press


WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal appeals court promised a quick ruling whether a
judge properly overturned new federal rules that outlawed road construction
on one-third of the government's forest lands.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco told parties to the
case to submit briefs by May 31, and be prepared for a decision as early as
July. The Bush administration plans to implement the ban, then revise it, but
has not said whether it will join environmental groups in the appeal.

Environmentalists said Friday they were heartened by the court's decision to
expedite the appeal. A spokesman for the groups, which include Earthjustice
Legal Defense Fund and the Natural Resources Defense Council, said this
week's appellate court order represents a possible first step toward reversal
of the ruling by U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge in Boise, Idaho. That would
allow the ban to take effect this summer.

President Clinton issued the prohibition order in January that would block
almost all logging and road-building on 58.5 million acres of national
forests.

``The Idaho decision put implementation of the roadless rule on hold, but
this expedited appeal may allow the roadless rule to take effect sooner
rather than later,'' said Jane Danowitz, head of the groups' Heritage Forests
Campaign to implement the ban.

In his May 10 ruling, Lodge called the ban a ``Band-Aid approach'' toward
forest conservation.

The Bush administration has said the rule should be changed to allow more
local communities and American Indian tribes to have some say in the policy
and maps used to inventory the roadless areas to be checked for accuracy.

Environmentalists contend the policy represents the most extensive public
rule-making in history. It came after more than three years of study, 600
public hearings and 1.6 million individual comments.

On the Net: House Resources Committee: http://www.house.gov/resources

Forest Service: http://www.fs.fed.us

Heritage Forests Campaign: http://www.ourforests.org

AP-NY-05-23-01 1745EDT

[JeepinIan]

copied & to club members & posted. <IMG SRC="smilies/glasses.gif" border="0">

[YellowSub1962]

> By JOHN HEILPRIN, Associated Press
>
> WASHINGTON (May 23, 2001 05:54 p.m. EDT) - A federal appeals court
> promised a timely ruling whether a judge properly overturned new
> federal rules that outlawed road construction on one-third of the
> government's forest lands.
>
> The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco told parties
> to the case to submit briefs by May 31, and be prepared for a
> decision as early as July. The Bush administration plans to
> implement the ban, then revise it, but has not said whether it will
> join environmental groups in the appeal.
>
> Environmentalists said Friday they were heartened by the court's
> decision to expedite the appeal. A spokesman for the groups, which
> include Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund and the Natural Resources
> Defense Council, said this week's appellate court order represents a
> possible first step toward reversal of the ruling by U.S. District
> Judge Edward Lodge in Boise, Idaho.
> That would allow the ban to take effect this summer.
>
> President Clinton issued the prohibition order in January that would
> block almost all logging and road-building on 58.5 million acres of
> national forests.
>
> "The Idaho decision put implementation of the roadless rule on hold,
> but this expedited appeal may allow the roadless rule to take effect
> sooner rather than later," said Jane Danowitz, head of the groups'
> Heritage Forests Campaign to implement the ban.
>
> In his May 10 ruling, Lodge called the ban a "Band-Aid approach"
> toward forest conservation.
>
> The Bush administration has said the rule should be changed to allow
> more local communities and American Indian tribes to have some say in
> the policy and maps used to inventory the roadless areas to be
> checked for accuracy.
>
> Environmentalists contend the policy represents the most extensive
> public rule-making in history. It came after more than three years
> of study, 600 public hearings and 1.6 million individual comments.