Obama Administration Moves To Block Building Roads In National Forests, Defends 2001 Rule Imposed by former President Bill Clinton

The Obama administration says that it will defend a 2001 rule, which was imposed by former President Bill Clinton, that blocked road construction and other development on millions of acres of remote national forests.  Conflicting court opinions have variously upheld and blocked the so-called Roadless Rule, which prohibited commercial logging, mining and other development on about 58 million acres of national forest in 38 states and Puerto Rico, but no surprise, a subsequent Bush administration rule had cleared the way for more commercial activity there.

A federal appeals court threw out the 2005 Bush roadless rule last week, saying the rule "had the effect of permanently repealing uniform, nationwide, substantive protections that were afforded to inventoried roadless areas" in national forests. The California-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the 2001 rule offered greater protection to remote forests than the 2005 rule. The Aug. 5 ruling, one of dozens in recent years related to roadless forests, was not the final word on the issue.

The Wyoming case is pending in the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where environmental groups are appealing a ruling by a federal judge repealing the Clinton roadless rule. Arguments are expected this fall before an appeals panel in Denver. Source: Huffington Post

The latest move by the Obama administration is a step in the right direction.