In a major upset last Wednesday, a federal judge in San Francisco reinstated Clinton-era protections for nearly 60 million acres of national forest lands. The ruling voided the Bush administration’s petition process for potentially opening vast areas of remote national forest lands to road building, a necessary prerequisite for energy development and other commercial activities.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Laporte restored the Clinton rule that made roadless areas in national forests off limits to most road building, logging and other development, such as oil and natural gas drilling activities. The Bush administration’s plan had been challenged in a lawsuit filed by four state attorneys general and 20 environmental groups. It claimed that the administration had failed to comply with the applicable federal laws before voiding the Clinton roadless protections.

At issue was a Bush administration replacement rule that negated the Clinton-era protections by establishing a process for state governors to petition the Agriculture Department’s U.S. Forest Service to potentially open up vast acres of national forest lands in their respective states to road building. The May 2005 rule gave state governors the option to either keep their wilderness lands roadless or open them up to development.

Sen. Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, supported Laporte’s decision. “I realize that no rule can perfectly satisfy everyone, but the Clinton roadless rule struck a chord with Americans who want to ensure that the few remaining acres of roadless areas in our national forests will be there for the enjoyment of their children and grandchildren,” he said.

“That rule was adopted after more than three years of study, 600 public hearings and a record number of comments — the overwhelming majority of which favored protecting our roadless wild areas.”

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