| Court upholds Forest Service
off-highway vehicle management
April 4, 2003 BlueRibbon Coalition, Inc. Contact: Paul Turcke 208-331-1807; 208-861-1334 Bill Dart 800-258-3742 x102 Missoula, Montana - In a victory for the U.S. Forest Service and off-highway vehicle ("OHV") advocates, Chief U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy entered an order on March 27, 2003, dismissing a legal challenge to vehicle access on the Clearwater and Bitterroot National Forests. The suit was filed by the Montana Wilderness Association and other organizations and claimed that the agency had illegally improved vehicle access to Fish Lake in the Clearwater Forest and had illegally allowed vehicles wider than 40 inches on Forest trails. Several access advocacy groups intervened in the case on the side of the Forest Service, including the BlueRibbon Coalition, Montana and Idaho snowmobile associations, Clearwater Road and Trail Advisory Board and local riding clubs. The case was argued before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leif B. Erickson, who issued a recommendation on November 12, 2002, which was adopted in full by Judge Molloy. The Order finds that the Forest Service followed the law and provided a reasoned basis for its management of vehicle access. Judge Molloy observed that while the Wilderness Association "would like to see more emphasis on 'maintaining wilderness character' and less emphasis on 'motorized use,' it is not up to the Court to tell [the Forest Service] how to balance those interests ... That Plaintiffs disagree with [the Forest Service's] ultimate conclusion does not grant the Court authority to second-guess an agency decision." "We are quite pleased with this judgment," stated Paul Turcke, a Boise, Idaho, attorney who represented the OHV groups. "There are varied and deserving interests seeking enjoyment in the Idaho and Montana backcountry, which can accommodate one another. Those wishing to avoid motors can venture to the more than 7 million acres of Congressionally-designated Wilderness in these two states -- while others, hoping to enjoy a backcountry experience, but lacking the time or physical ability to travel in Wilderness -- can enjoy legally-approved motorized access to non-Wilderness areas. The dynamic and controversial balance between these opportunities requires public input and should be forged by the agency, not federal courts," Turcke concluded. ----- The BlueRibbon Coalition is a national non-profit organization dedicated to promoting responsible recreation, equal opportunity, and recreation access to all. It represents over 1,100 organizations and businesses with 650,000 members. The BlueRibbon Coalition works to "Preserving our natural Resources FOR the public instead of FROM the public," and to promote cooperation among the various user-groups. |