Legal•Info

Group Files Lawsuit Over Road Closure

Posted: Wednesday, August 6th, 2008 at 3:23 pm

A group of recreational agencies has filed a lawsuit in relation to the travel management plan for a part of the Lewis and Clark National Forest in north-central Montana. The lawsuit was filed this week in US District Court after the plan was confirmed as the final decision of the Forest Service earlier this year.

According to the lawsuit the travel plan has resulted in more than fifty percent of the forest lands that were previously open to motorized vehicles being closed as a result The plan was required under 2005 Forest Service regulations.

John Borgreen of the Russell Country Sportsmen stated: “We seek balance between protection of natural and historical resources and the ability of a diverse population to enjoy them. If this decision is allowed to stand, it will eliminate long-honored practices such as using vehicles for camping and big-game retrieval, and could force property owners to ride expert-level ATV trails to gain access to their backcountry cabins.”

An official from the Great Falls Trail Bike Riders Association said the association stated that the association supported “the concept of moving motorized travel to a designated route system, but this decision went too far and ignored sound science and public planning requirements.”

 

Bookmark This Article:
| del.icio.us: | Digg: | Technorati: | Newsvine: | Reddit: | Furl: | |
| Stumble Upon: | Yahoo!: | Google: |