SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Utah is suing the U.S. Forest Service over a
plan put together in the final days of the Clinton administration
that sets aside 58 million acres of roadless land. In papers to be
filed in federal court Friday, the Utah Attorney General's Office
argues that the policy was enacted so hurriedly that the state and
the public were prevented from assessing the plan's impact. ``This
is about following rules,'' said Attorney General Mark Shurtleff at
an evening news conference.
In Utah, about 4 million acres are affected by the policy. While
the Forest Service held several hundred public meetings on the policy,
those meetings came before the exact boundaries of the roadless areas
had been established, Gov. Mike Leavitt said. Utah joins Idaho, Alaska
and the Boise Cascade Co. in challenging the policy, which bans road-building
in roadless areas and prohibits timber cutting on the land. Colorado,
Wyoming, Montana and Nevada also are considering legal challenges,
Shurtleff said. According to Utah's lawsuit, the roadless plan breaks
with the Forest Service's ``multiple use mandate,'' which requires
the agency to balance conservation with timber harvesting, recreation
and other uses. One of the main purposes of National Forest land is
to ``furnish a continuous supply of timber,'' the suit contends.
The suit asks a federal judge to declare that the new roadless initiative
violates existing federal policies and to prevent the Forest Service
from further implementing the policy. A federal judge in the Idaho
challenge declined to immediately block the plan.
However, U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge did say the Forest Service
appeared to have rushed the policy. Lodge said he would rule on the
matter after the Bush administration issues a status report in May.
