Good news for TU, the Sportsmen’s Conservation Project (SCP) and its work to protect pristine backcountry habitat in the West:
U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill has ruled in favor of the U.S. Forest Service and Idaho’s negotiated roadless rule in a case that divided the conservation community in the state.
In short, the decision means the Idaho roadless rule will remain in place, no matter what happens to roadless rules enacted in other states. That’s good news for fish and wildlife because Idaho’s rule provides even greater protection for backcountry fish and wildlife habitat than the original 2001 rule put in place by the Clinton administration. TU and the SCP maintain that the Idaho rule, and the process that created it, should become the model for other western states that want to replace the 2001 rule with their own roadless rules.
“TU supported the roadless process in Idaho, and now, so have the federal courts,” said Scott Stouder, the SCP’s representative in Idaho.
Read more about the court case and Judge Winmill’s decision here.
