ELR Citation: ELR 20157
No(s). 90-15221 (9th Cir. Nov 6, 1990)

The court holds that the Forest Service's failure to prepare a comprehensive land management plan for federal land adjacent to or within a designated river under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act was not error. The Forest Service proposed to conduct a sale of fire damaged timber on the national forest land in the area immediately around portions of the South Fork of the Trinity River, which is included in the National Wild and Scenic River System. The court holds that the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act does not mandate that federal agencies with management jurisdiction over federal lands within or adjacent to a protected river formulate a management plan and that the court cannot impose such requirements on a federal agency. The court observes that although preparation of comprehensive plans would be prudent, the Act requires agencies only to review pre-existing plans for rivers designated before January 1, 1986. The court also holds that the Forest Service Manual does not require preparation of a comprehensive plan. The court holds that the Forest Service must respect the goals of the Act and preserve the values of the protected areas, but that factual issues remain concerning whether the proposed sale undermines the Act's purposes or jeopardizes the values of the South Fork. The court also finds that it is not possible to determine as a matter of law from the record whether the Forest Service cooperated with the Secretary of the Interior and appropriate state water pollution control agencies as required under the Act.

[District court decisions are published at 19 ELR 20557 and 20 ELR 20661.]

Counsel for Defendants-Appellants
Elizabeth Ann Peterson
Environment and Natural Resources Division
U.S. Department of Justice, Washington DC 20530
(202) 514-2000

Counsel for Plaintiffs-Appellees
Stephan C. Volker
Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund
2044 Fillmore St., San Francisco CA 94115
(415) 567-6100

Before Farris, Choy, and Thompson, JJ.