Forest Service's wilderness plans scuttled by judge

A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Forest Service did not give adequate consideration to potential wilderness areas in its management plan for four Southern California forests. The state of California and seven environmental groups sued the Forest Service last year over its plan for more than a million acres of so-called roadless areas across the San Bernardino, Cleveland, Angeles and Los Padres national forests. The groups said the agency's decision to allow road building, oil drilling and off-highway vehicle use in remote areas would harm endangered species and threaten forest health. California's Natural Resources Agency, which sued separately on behalf of the state, contended the federal plan ignored state policy banning road building in pristine areas. The state and environmental group lawsuits were combined. Although U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn Hall Patel found no merit in most points, she agreed with the principal complaint that the Forest Service violated federal law by failing to consider cumulative damage that roads would cause in those areas...read more