ELR Citation: ELR 20014
No(s). 05-1005 (10th Cir. Jan 12, 2006)

The court affirms a lower court decision dismissing nonprofit organizations' National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), National Forest Mangement Act (NFMA), and Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) claims against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Land Management in connection with changes to winter recreational access to public land near Durango, Colorado. The agencies satisfied NEPA's hard-look requirement, and the organizations waived their claim that the agencies should have prepared an environmental impact statement instead of an environmental assessment because they failed to raise this issue during the administrative proceedings. Nor did the agencies violate the NFMA by failing to formally amend the forest plan at issue because their compliance with NEPA satisfied any requirement that would be necessary under the NFMA. In addition, the organizations failed to exhaust their remedies under FLPMA.