Anti-recreation Lawsuit Bans Whitehouse Christmas Tree And Other Forest Activities

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BLUERIBBON COALITION, INC.



NEWS RELEASE



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Brian Hawthorne

Phone: 208-237-1008 ext. 102

Date: September 29, 2005



ANTI-RECREATION LAWSUIT BANS WHITEHOUSE CHRISTMAS TREE AND OTHER FOREST ACTIVITIES



POCATELLO, ID (Sept. 29) – A recent order by a federal court prohibits the U.S. Forest Service from using streamlined regulations to permit many popular recreational activities as well as projects that reduce hazardous fuels and improve wildlife habitat.



On July 2, 2005 the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California issued an Order banning the use of Categorical Exclusions (CEs). The ruling requires any forest project using a CE to include a formal public notice, be available for public comment and give the public the option of appealing the decision. The order applies to all decisions made with a CE after July 7, 2005. It also applies nationwide.



The court order is a result of a lawsuit filed by the following anti-recreation groups; the Earth Island Institute, Sequoia ForestKeeper, Heartwood, Center for Biological Diversity, and the Sierra Club against a timber project on the Sequoia National Forest .



A CE is a category of actions that do not have a significant effect on the environment and therefore do not require an Environmental Assessment (EA) or Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). CEs are allowed under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). They simplify documentation -- not eliminate it -- for those actions that clearly do not have a significant effect on the environment. Such permitted activities include certain off-road vehicle events, mountain bike tours and group outings for organizations such as the Boy or Girl Scouts.



Brian Hawthorne, Public Lands Director for the BlueRibbon Coalition , states, “I think the green groups have gone too far with their anti-recreation agenda. They seek to create a virtual ‘analysis paralysis’ in the Forest Service to advance their agenda. Sadly, it is the responsible recreating public will suffer because of their extreme positions.”



"I believe the American public will see this for what it is - radical environmentalism run amok. If a project meets the specific and limited criteria for Categorical Exclusion and cannot have a significant effect on the environment, land managers should not be forced to complete an unnecessarily lengthy and wasteful analysis. " Hawthorne added.



This decisions impact projects such as the Capitol Holiday Tree program, which allows a tree from a different national forest to grace the lawn of the U.S. Capitol throughout the holiday season—a proud tradition for nearly 40 years. “Instead of approving such projects with a streamlined permit using CEs, the agency must now enact a lengthy 135 day notice, comment, and appeal process,” Hawthorne said. “It’s not just the mom and pop recreation clubs that get hurt, but great American traditions like placing the Christmas tree on the White House lawn are affected as well.”



Hawthorne noted that the ruling potentially affects hundreds of projects throughout the country, including projects that will reduce hazardous fuels and improve wildlife habitat. Hawthorne added; “The effects of the decision are not yet completely understood and it will take some time to fully assess a strategy of action. BRC remains committed to protecting recreational access to public lands and will be watching the situation closely.”



More info on the ruling: http://www.fs.fed.us/emc/applit/litigation.htm



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The BlueRibbon Coalition is a national recreation group that champions responsible use of public and private lands, and encourages individual environmental stewardship. It represents over 10,000 individual members and 1,200 organization and business members, for a combined total of over 600,000 recreationists nationwide.

1-800-258-3742. www.sharetrails.org

[Haole]

From BRC:

Dear BRC members, supporters and Action Alert Subscribers,



Many BRC members have been calling and emailing us to find out what the latest news is regarding the recent order by a federal court requiring the U.S. Forest Service to comply with public notice and appeal timelines when processing actions under a Categorical Exclusion (CEs).



The court order is a result of the lawsuit; Earth Island Institute v. Ruthenbeck, filed by the following anti-recreation groups: the Earth Island Institute, Sequoia ForestKeeper, Heartwood, Center for Biological Diversity, and the Sierra Club against a timber project on the Sequoia National Forest.

Pasted below is the media release we sent on the CE mess. At that time, I wrote: "The effects of the decision are not yet completely understood and it will take some time to fully assess a strategy of action. BRC remains committed to protecting recreational access to public lands and will be watching the situation closely."

A strategy is being formed 'as we speak', and our best minds are working on it. We are in contact with FS and administration officials, the Department of Justice and other national OHV groups. We have been told that the DOJ is reviewing the situation for possible appeal, and BRC's legal team is also assessing appeal options.



The ruling potentially affects hundreds of projects throughout the country. CE's are used to approve all sorts of projects ranging from trail maintenance activities to timber operations. Many group activities, such as Boy Scout campouts and jamboree's are approved with CE's along with 4x4 club runs or charity events. Most Operating Plans for backcountry ski Yurt's and even major Ski areas are processed via CE's. In some areas, snowmobile grooming operations are approved via CE's. OHV events ranging from Enduro's to Dual Purpose Motorcycle (street legal) tours are approved via CE's.



Sadly, the court ruling has resulted in the cancellation of many such projects, including the popular "49er Enduro," sponsored by AMA's District 36, the Capital City Enduro, sponsored by the Tallahassee Trail Riders and even the very popular "Fright Night," an annual charity fundraiser sponsored by the Point Mugu 4x4 Club. The ruling even resulted in the cancellation of an adopt-a-trail project on the Gila National Forest in New Mexico. As a result of these cancellations, many BRC members are inquiring what to do if they have an event or adopt a trail approved by a CE.

It is reasonable to assume this ruling will be moderated in one form or another; however those efforts may take time. If your group has activities planned in the next six to eight months that would normally be approved by CE's, BRC recommends you proceed as though the ruling will remain in effect.



In order that your activity receives approval in time, our advice is that you insist the FS process the CE under the new notice and appeal guidelines and don't let them waste a minute doing it. Consider asking the agency to do a multi-year environmental assessment for the event. Delay of OHV Club activities, or needed trail maintenance activities, only serve the interests of our adversaries. Do whatever you need to do to get the work done.

[Haole]

Got this from my congressperson's website.

Granted it's because of non wheeling events, but I thought the highlighted portion was interesting.

Capps Calls on Forest Service to Rescind Unnecessary Permitting Process, Allow CADA Summit for Danny



WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Lois Capps today joined other Members of Congress calling on the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to reinstate some established recreational events now mired in the permitting process, including the Santa Barbara Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse’s (CADA) annual “Summit for Danny” hike scheduled in Los Padres National Forest for Saturday.



A copy of the letter is attached.



“I am disappointed that the Forest Service is playing politics with the Summit for Danny hike and other recreational activities in Los Padres and other national forests,” Congresswoman Capps said. “The Bush Administration needs to let these important routine activities continue.”



Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth recently required all projects and activities on national forest lands – from hiking to horseback riding and from boating to weddings – that had qualified for “categorical exclusions” to go through the full permitting process, which can take up to 135 days. This decision also has postponed the planned harvesting of the Capitol Holiday Tree from a New Mexico forest for display in Washington, DC.



This decision stems from a July U.S. District Court ruling requiring the full permitting process for logging in national forests. Last month the court required it to be applied nationwide. The court ruling was spurred by a lawsuit filed by environmental groups, challenging a 2003 USFS rule that allowed logging projects to qualify for “categorical exclusions” without public comment and appeal. These groups say they were not targeting all “categorical exclusions.” The Forest Service overly broad interpretation of that ruling led it to require public comments, an environmental review and possible appeal for the more than 1,400 events “categorically excluded” from the National Environmental Policy Act, including the Summit for Danny hike.



“This is an overreaction by the Forest Service to drum up bad press about the original ruling,” Capps said. “Rather than applying the court’s decision as mandated – for logging in our national forests – the Bush Administration is trying to shut everyone out of the forests in an all-or-nothing scare tactic.”



The U.S. Department of Justice has asked the judge to stay his ruling during the appeal, allowing all “categorical exclusions” to continue without the permitting process, including the original logging activities.



The annual Summit for Danny hike will be forced to follow different routes outside of Los Padres National Forest due to the overly strict ban by the Forest Service. The event, scheduled for Saturday, draws hundreds of people who would have hiked three different trails, ending at the Santa Barbara Courthouse Sunken Gardens. Money raised by the event provides scholarships through the Daniel Bryant Center and CADA for adolescent substance abuse treatment.



CADA President and CEO Penny Jenkins said she found out on October 14 that they would not be able to continue the hike in Los Padres for a fourth year.


“We have to find other routes not in the forest,” Jenkins said. “We should be able to hike on our public lands. I am so disappointed this means the children of Santa Barbara will not have scholarships for drug and alcohol treatment.”

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Judge tells Forest Service it went too far

By JEFF BARNARD
Associated Press writer

GRANTS PASS — The U.S. Forest Service went overboard when it suspended mushroom picking, the cutting of Christmas trees and other activities to comply with a court order declaring it had to give the public a greater say in forest management decisions, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

Clarifying an earlier ruling, U.S. District Judge James K. Singleton Jr., wrote that the Forest Service needs to take public comments and consider appeals on major projects, such as timber sales and new off-highway vehicle trails — not on minor things such as permits for hunting guides or gathering mushrooms.

“This is the second time in a row the judge agreed with us and rejected the Forest Service’s utterly ridiculous interpretation of his order,’’ said Jim Bensman of Heartwood, a Midwest forest protection group that was a plaintiff in the lawsuit challenging Bush administration changes to forest management rules.

“I think this is pretty solid proof that the Forest Service was playing games with thousands of people’s livelihoods to try to get a political advantage.’’

The Forest Service had suspended nearly 1,500 activities nationwide, including cutting an 80-foot spruce in New Mexico to serve as the U.S. Capitol Christmas tree, the transfer of an operating permit for a ski area outside Los Angeles and permits to pick mushrooms on national forests in Oregon, arguing that they were all affected by Singleton’s July 2 ruling for the Eastern District of California.

Environmental groups accused the Bush administration and the Forest Service of intentionally trying to create a train wreck to build support for legislation to further limit public participation in logging on national forests.

The ruling stemmed from a 2003 lawsuit by Heartwood and other environmental groups challenging the harvest of burned trees on the Sequoia National Forest in California, which had been approved under what is called a categorical exclusion that does not allow for public comment or appeals. The case was aimed at striking down rules adopted by the Bush administration in 2003, Bensman said.

The judge denied the Forest Service request to lift his order pending appeal, saying the Forest Service had not shown it was likely to win an appeal, and the irreparable harm it claimed would likely go away now that his order was made more clear.

The judge wrote that when he suspended the 2003 regulations, he intended for the Forest Service to go back to regulations in effect before they were changed. Under those rules, activities subject to public comment and appeal included timber sales, prescribed burning, off-highway vehicle trails, creating wildlife openings greater than five acres, oil and gas exploration, and digging trenches to look for minerals.

The judge denied the Forest Service request to lift his order pending appeal, saying the Forest Service had not shown it was likely to win an appeal, and the irreparable harm it claimed would likely go away now that his order was made more clear.

Forest Service spokeswoman Heidi Valetkevich said the agency would comply with the judge’s clarification order, but had not yet conferred with U.S. Justice Department attorneys on just what that would mean.

Matt Kenna, an attorney for the Western Environmental Law Center in Durango, Colo., who represented environmentalists in the case, said he was still afraid that timber supporters would try to push a legislative rider through Congress to repeal the Appeals Reform Act, the basis for the ruling.

“This certainly shows the Forest Service was acting totally inappropriately and had no legal basis for what they were doing,’’ Kenna said. “I hope Congress realizes the Forest Service has been dishonest all along.’’

Chris West, vice president of the American Forest Resource Council, a timber industry group, maintained that environmentalists had intended to shut down minor forest activities, but backed off when confronted with public outrage.

“Our laws and regulations are not set up to pick and choose,’’ West said. “It should be across the board, not just those deemed politically correct by a special interest.’’

The Forest Service had suspended 115 permits for guided hunting, fishing, river trips and horseback rides, 14 projects on ski areas, 98 permits for public utilities and communications sites, and National Guard training on the Hoosier National Forest in Indiana. They also suspended thinning and burning to reduce wildfire danger on 20,000 acres, and 169 projects involving trail and campground maintenance.

http://www.gazettetimes.com/articles.../thurore01.txt