BLM sued over road maintenance at Steens Mountain

A conservation group has sued the U.S. Bureau of Land Management over maintenance work on old roads in congressionally protected areas around Steens Mountain in the high desert of Eastern Oregon. The lawsuit filed by the Oregon Natural Desert Association claims BLM violated environmental laws by running a road grader and a backhoe over 15 miles of overgrown jeep trails that were supposed to melt back into the landscape as part of special protections enacted by Congress in 2000. BLM resource area manager Joan Suther says the work - done to improve access for a wild horse roundup and controlled burning - was covered by existing management plans that went through environmental review. The association and BLM are to meet Friday to discuss their differences. AP