Judge Tosses Ban on Building National Forest Roads

In an ironic twist, a federal judge tossed out a Clinton Administration ban on building new roads in national forests, arguing that the measure -- enacted to protect the forests from development -- violates environmental statutes.

"(U.S. District Judge Clarence) Brimmer issued a permanent injunction against the so-called 'roadless rule,' saying that the ban was enacted in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act and the Wilderness Act," the Los Angeles Times writes, in the midst of its report about the meandering, convoluted and nearly decade-long legal battle.

The case highlights deep divisions in the country over the use of public lands. If new roads are prohibited from 60 million acres of national forests, an area nearly the size of Michigan is preserved for wildlife. If road-building is allowed, logging and other development is likely, despite that 60% of U.S. forests are in private ownership. National Forests aren't national parks, and in many cases they were designated for the dual purpose of protecting their ecological services, like water and air purification and wildlife habitat, and allowing some extraction and development.

What would you like to see done with land taxpayers own?

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