ELR Citation: ELR 20446
No(s). 88-1061 (D. Idaho Sep 24, 1993)

The court holds that the U.S. Forest Service (Service) may reasonably regulate the use of an unpaved forest development road by private landowners to access their lands within the Payette and Boise National Forests in Idaho, under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) in conjunction with its obligations under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The court holds that the landowners' constitutional right to travel was not violated by the Service's regulation of the forest road, which includes limited closures and specific methods of snow plowing, to reduce the amount of sediment runoff reaching the South Fork of the Salmon River, a critical habitat of the threatened chinook salmon. The Service's regulations do not place an unconscionable burden on the landowners, because they chose to live in a remote and often harsh environment within a national forest, and do not have an absolute right to the most convenient means of access to their homes. The court holds that the United States, through the Service, has a right to regulate when and under what circumstances the public may enter and use national forest lands in order to protect the lands and the resources found there, that the regulations are necessary to protect an endangered species of salmon and its critical habitat, and that the regulations are narrowly tailored to meet these compelling governmental purposes. The court also holds that ANILCA and the ESA are not in irreconcilable conflict with each other, because the Service can administer the statutes to give effect to the purposes of both. The court finds that the regulations are not arbitrary and capricious, are reasonable, and do not violate the landowners' rights of ingress and egress under ANILCA. Finally, the court holds that a special use permit is not necessary, because the entire town sought use of the development road and it is not clear who would be required to obtain a permit.

Counsel for Plaintiffs
Joanne Herlihy
Mountain States Legal Foundation
1660 Lincoln St., Ste. 2300, Denver CO 80264
(303) 861-0244

Counsel for Defendants
D. Marc Haws, Ass't U.S. Attorney
U.S. Attorney's Office
328 U.S. CtHse., P.O. Box 037
550 W. Fort St., Boise ID 83724
(208) 334-1211