ELR Citation: ELR 20295
No(s). 08-1306 (1st Cir. Dec 5, 2008)

The First Circuit held that the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (WSRA) does not preempt state statutes governing the management of state-administered rivers. A group of canoeists filed suit claiming that Maine's statute governing the Allagash Wilderness Waterway is preempted by the WSRA. Specifically, they argued that the state statute threatens the wilderness condition of the river by permitting motor vehicle traffic close to the river and by installing six permanent bridges over the watercourse. But the WSRA's overarching respect for a state's authority over its own designated rivers refutes the canoeists' claim of conflict preemption. Maine must administer the waterway "in such manner as to protect and enhance the values which caused it to be included" in the system of protected rivers. But the WSRA leaves the determination of how best to administer the waterway to meet those objectives to Maine. At most, there is a disagreement between the canoeists and the state as to how to best administer the waterway to meet those ends. But that sort of disagreement does not give rise to a viable claim of preemption. Nor is the state statute preempted by federal agency action because the National Park Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved Maine's plans for the replacement of one of the bridges at issue.