Red flag warning continues til 9 p.m. isolated storms possible for SE MN tonight

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 (AP) - A federal judge on Wednesday reinstated the
"Roadless Rule," a Clinton-era ban on road construction in nearly
a third of national forests.

      U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Laporte ruled that the Bush
administration failed to conduct necessary environmental studies
before making changes that allowed states to decide how to manage
individual national forests.

      The 2001 rule prohibits logging, mining and other development on
58.5 million acres in 38 states and Puerto Rico, but the Bush
administration replaced it in May 2005 with a process that required
governors to petition the federal government to protect national
forests in their states.

      Laporte sided with 20 environmental groups and four states -
California, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington - that sued the U.S.
Forest Service over the changes.

      "This is fantastic news for millions of Americans who have
consistently told the Forest Service that they wanted these last
wild areas of public land protected," said Kristen Boyles, an
attorney for Earthjustice, one of the plaintiffs.

      Forest Service officials could not be immediately reached for
comment.

      Laporte's ruling does not affect about 9.3 million acres of
Alaska's Tongass National Forest, which is covered by a separate
rule on road construction and other development.

Gallery

"Roadless Rule" impacts Minnesota forests

Environmental News

A federal judge on Wednesday reinstated the
"Roadless Rule," a Clinton-era ban on road construction in nearly one-third of national forests.


Judge reinstates "roadless rule" in national forests

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