32 ELR 20479 -- Montana Snowmobile Ass'n v. Wildes

Montana Snowmobile Ass'n v. Wildes

No. 00-35348 (UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT February 5, 2002)

ELR Digest

The court affirms a district court grant of summary judgment to the U.S. Forest Service (Forest Service) that barred a snowmobile association's challenge to the closure of certain areas of the Lolo National Forest to motorized vehicle use. The district court barred the association's suit under 28 U.S.C. § 2401, which requires that civil actions commenced against the United States be brought within six years after the right of action first accrues. The Forest Service first determined that it would close the areas at issue to motorized use in 1986. The court first holds that even if the statute of limitations did not apply, the association's claims are insufficient on their merits. The association claims that the Forest Service failed to properly monitor the effects of specific types of off-road vehicles as it is required to do by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulation 36 C.F.R. § 295 and to consider such results in the formation of future travel planning for the forest. However, the Forest Service prepared a monitoring report, an environmental assessment, and a June 2000 analysis, all of which addressed motorized vehicle use in the forest. Since the Forest Service is not required to prepare such analyses every year, it acted in good-faith compliance with the NEPA travel planning obligation. The court further holds that the Forest Service did not act arbitrarily or capriciously when it implemented the motorized vehicle ban in 1998 after failing to enforce it during the 13 years since it was first imposed in the 1986 forest plan.

[The district court decision in this litigation is published at 30 ELR 20381.]

The full text of this decision is available from ELR (4 pp., ELR Order No. L-457).

Counsel for Plaintiffs
Paul A. Turcke
Law Offices of Paul A. Turcke
999 W. Main St., Boise ID 83702
(208) 331-1800

Counsel for Defendants
Bill Mercer
U.S. Attorney's Office
P.O. Box 8329, Missoula MT 59807
(406) 542-8851

[OPINION OMITTED BY PUBLISHER IN ORIGINAL SOURCE]