9th Circuit Court Rules in Favor of Forest Service
Nearly one year after we filed our lawsuit in the Eastern District Federal Court against the Plumas National Forest Travel Management Plan, Judge Morrison England ruled in favor of the Forest Service. We appealed his decision which was heard in the 9th Circuit United States court of Appeals in San Francisco on April 10, 2018.
Unfortunately, the 9th Circuit upheld the Eastern District court's decision. We were disappointed to see the judges in the appeals court did not explain why they ruled against us. Their denial document was short and did not engage in the issues.
We did our best, and we feel there are several benefits to filing the lawsuit even though we did not win.
When one door closes, another door opens.
Congress took notice of our lawsuit. The Congressional Subcommittee on Interior, Energy, and Environment invited Amy Granat, a co-plaintiff in our lawsuit, to testify at a hearing in Washington D.C. concerning the effects of Forest Service road closures. Amy and Corky Lazzarino traveled to Washington D.C. on June 26, 2018 to attend the hearing. Amy's testimony can be viewed at: https://oversight.house.gov/hearing/access-to-public-lands-the-effects-of-forest-service-road-closures/
We thank all the SAC members for your support. We will continue working to preserve access to our public lands.
Nearly one year after we filed our lawsuit in the Eastern District Federal Court against the Plumas National Forest Travel Management Plan, Judge Morrison England ruled in favor of the Forest Service. We appealed his decision which was heard in the 9th Circuit United States court of Appeals in San Francisco on April 10, 2018.
Unfortunately, the 9th Circuit upheld the Eastern District court's decision. We were disappointed to see the judges in the appeals court did not explain why they ruled against us. Their denial document was short and did not engage in the issues.
We did our best, and we feel there are several benefits to filing the lawsuit even though we did not win.
When one door closes, another door opens.
Congress took notice of our lawsuit. The Congressional Subcommittee on Interior, Energy, and Environment invited Amy Granat, a co-plaintiff in our lawsuit, to testify at a hearing in Washington D.C. concerning the effects of Forest Service road closures. Amy and Corky Lazzarino traveled to Washington D.C. on June 26, 2018 to attend the hearing. Amy's testimony can be viewed at: https://oversight.house.gov/hearing/access-to-public-lands-the-effects-of-forest-service-road-closures/
We thank all the SAC members for your support. We will continue working to preserve access to our public lands.
New Effort to Change Travel Management Final Rule
Sierra Access Coalition and California Off-Road Vehicle Assoc. are partnering to propose changes to the Travel Management Final Rule. The new Trump Administration has the ability to change executive orders signed by previous administrations, provided there was not a vote in Congress. There was not a congressional vote in the case of the Travel Management Rule. We are in the process of filing an Administrative Petition to the USDA Forest Service to change certain portions of the Final Rule. This is not litigation through the court system. Our attorney, Ted Hadzi-Antich of Texas Public Policy Foundation, will be filing the petition.
We have written a draft of the changes we would like to see in the Travel Management Final Rule. This is only a first draft and is subject to change.
For more information about this process, click on the links below:
Proposed Administrative Petition
Proposed Changes to Travel Management Final Rule
Sierra Access Coalition and California Off-Road Vehicle Assoc. are partnering to propose changes to the Travel Management Final Rule. The new Trump Administration has the ability to change executive orders signed by previous administrations, provided there was not a vote in Congress. There was not a congressional vote in the case of the Travel Management Rule. We are in the process of filing an Administrative Petition to the USDA Forest Service to change certain portions of the Final Rule. This is not litigation through the court system. Our attorney, Ted Hadzi-Antich of Texas Public Policy Foundation, will be filing the petition.
We have written a draft of the changes we would like to see in the Travel Management Final Rule. This is only a first draft and is subject to change.
For more information about this process, click on the links below:
Proposed Administrative Petition
Proposed Changes to Travel Management Final Rule