- Location
- Desert Beach So Cal
BLUERIBBON COALITION, INC.
www.sharetrails.org
MEDIA RELEASE April 4, 2003
For Information Contact:
Paul Turcke 208-331-1807; 208-861-1334
Bill Dart 800-258-3742 x102
COURT UPHOLDS FOREST SERVICE OFF-HIGHWAY VEHICLE MANAGEMENT
MISSOULA, MT. 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.
www.sharetrails.org
MEDIA RELEASE April 4, 2003
For Information Contact:
Paul Turcke 208-331-1807; 208-861-1334
Bill Dart 800-258-3742 x102
COURT UPHOLDS FOREST SERVICE OFF-HIGHWAY VEHICLE MANAGEMENT
MISSOULA, MT. 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.
