Judge rules in favor of Forest Service

A federal judge ruled in favor of the U.S. Forest Service Monday in a lawsuit filed by Beaverhead County commissioners concerning access to 322,000 acres in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. The suit contended that the Forest Service’s 2009 revised forest plan unfairly restricted access to motorized recreation vehicles in newly recommended wilderness areas by failing to consult with the plaintiffs and by not conducting a proper environmental analysis. In his summary judgment, U.S. District Judge Sam Haddon dismissed two of the plaintiffs’ claims and found in favor of the defendants on three others. The plaintiffs were Beaverhead County Commissioners Tom Rice and Mike McGinley, along with many individuals and organizations interested in access to wilderness. Those individuals and organizations included snowmobile and off-road vehicle groups, ranchers and mining organizations...more