ELR Citation: 51 ELR 20197
No(s). 17-5260 (D.C. Cir. Nov 16, 2021)

The D.C. Circuit dismissed as moot Alaska's challenge to the Forest Service's 2001 Roadless Rule. The challenge centered on the Roadless Rule's impact on the Tongass National Forest, which the USDA exempted from the rule in 2020, but the state argued it should be allowed to proceed because the exemption might be repealed and because of the rule's ongoing application to the Chugach National Forest. The court found it inappropriate to speculate about future actions by policymakers to determine whether the rule would be reapplied to the Tongass, and that the state failed to show what harm it faced due to the rule's application to the Chugach. It dismissed Alaska's challenge as moot.