ELR Citation: 52 ELR 20135
No(s). 3:21-cv-00056-BLW (D. Idaho Dec 1, 2022) (Winmill, J.)

A district court vacated in part the Forest Service's 2017 record of decision (ROD) that closed approximately 196,000 acres of recommended wilderness areas in Clearwater National Forest to motorized vehicles and eliminated motorized use on 38 miles of existing trails. An environmental group had challenged the Service's exception in the ROD to allow summer motorized use on one particular trail to continue, bringing claims under the National Forest Management Act (NFMA), the Travel Management Rule (TMR), and NEPA. The court found the exception equated to non-compliance with the national forest plan in violation of NFMA, and that the Service failed to provide a route-level analysis of the application of minimizing criteria for the trail as required by the TMR. The group subsequently sought vacatur of the portions of the ROD that were inconsistent with the forest plan, while the Service sought remand without vacatur. The court found vacatur of the portion of the ROD allowing summer motorized use of the trail at issue to be appropriate, and remanded the ROD to the Service for reconsideration.