ELR Citation: ELR 20642
No(s). 00-4146 (10th Cir. Apr 25, 2002)

The court holds that the U.S. Forest Service's decision to close numerous roads in a popular recreation area in the Dixie National Forest in an effort to reduce sedimentation in lakes complied with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Forest Service issued an environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact for the closure. The court holds that the Forest Service took an appropriately hard look under NEPA at all of the relevant environmental factors. The Forest Service identified a specific need for action to correct the sedimentation entering the lakes from  improper road location and drainage. That need, and the fact that substandard roads were a major source of the lake sediment problem, was amply documented by the Forest Service over an extended period of time. Thus, it was not arbitrary or capricious for the Forest Service to conclude that the roads in the recreation area were a major source of lake sedimentation that needed to be remedied. Additionally, the Forest Service's use of a sediment yield prediction guide in its assessment was not contrary to NEPA's hard look requirement. Further, the Forest Service's review contained an assessment of the impart of all current and foreseeable future uses and examined the direct, indirect, and cumulative effects of these activities in light of the proposed action. Moreover, the Forest Service's finding that the project would have no significant impact on the quality of the human environment was nor arbitrary or capricious.

The full text of this decision is available from ELR (7 pp., ELR Order No. L-508).

Counsel for Plaintiffs
Kristen L. Cassisa
Mountain States Legal Foundation
707 17th St., Denver CO 80202
(303) 292-2021

Counsel for Defendants
David C. Shilton
Environment and Natural Resources Division
U.S. Department of Justice, Washington DC 20530
(202) 514-2000