Decision favors Idaho roadless rule: Case divided national, regional environmental groups

Idaho will continue to be the only state in the nation with a self-written rule to protect federal roadless areas within its boundaries.

District court Judge B. Lynn Winmill of Boise upheld the Idaho Roadless Rule in a case that divided national and regional environmental groups over the best way to protect the state's 9 million acres of pristine forests.

Winmill's decision, issued over the weekend and released Monday, was a blow to the Wilderness Society, Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defence Council that sought to have the rule struck down and replaced by the 2001 national roadless rule. The Idaho rule was supported by the Idaho Conservation League and Trout Unlimited, who said it was as protective as the rule written in the waning days of the Clinton Administrative but more accepted by Idaho residents.

"In the end we felt the rule struck a balance and it made sense, and certainly having the support of the state of Idaho and all the various players involved was a positive," said Jonathan Oppenheimer of the Idaho Conservation League at Boise.

The Idaho rule was crafted by former Gov. Jim Risch following a series of public meetings conducted throughout the state and comments from commissioners in each county. Risch submitted the rule under the Administrative Procedures Act, and it won approval from a national advisory committee in 2006 before going through the federal rule-making process.

"This ruling shows that the collaborative process is viable in resolving federal public land disputes at the state level," said Risch, who now serves as a U.S. senator. "Idaho has the only roadless rule in the nation developed on state-based input from the full spectrum of wildland users."

The rule gives a higher level of protection than afforded by the Clinton rule on about 3.2 million areas where logging and road building are not allowed. Another 5.3 million acres have a similar level of protection as the Clinton rule, where logging and temporary roads are allowed in certain circumstances, like thinning to reduce fire risk to adjacent communities. Another 400,000 acres would lose roadless protections under the Idaho rule.

The Wilderness Society and others argued that on the balance, the 2001 rule was more protective and the Idaho rule would threaten habitat for endangered species. Winmill was not persuaded by that argument, and said reviews by the Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ensure important areas for species such as grizzly bears and woodland caribou would be protected under the Idaho rule.

"The Idaho rule does away with protections guaranteed to roadless areas in all other states in the lower 48," said Craig Gehrke, regional director for the Wilderness Society at Boise. "It's a real shame that some of the most spectacular backcountry in America will be denied the level of protection enjoyed by other states."

Chris Wood, CEO of Trout Unlimited, helped to write the 2001 rule when he served as an advisor to Forest Service Chief Mike Dombeck in the Clinton Administration. But he also served on the advisory committee that approved the Idaho rule. He called it a "remarkable achievement" and said those who challenged the Idaho rule can be assured it will protect the state's roadless areas and the species that depend on them.

"My hope is they will recognize it's still a fairly significant accomplishment that the people of Idaho - from the most conservative county commissioners to the timber industry to groups like Idaho Conservation League and Trout Unlimited - believe we have a good umbrella of protection for Idaho roadless areas."