Major Milestones Towards Roadless Protection

Earthjustice, Natural Resources Defense Council, and our allies have fought for years to protect roadless areas. See a timeline of the major milestones.

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Behind The Scenes

Earthjustice has led the legal defense of the Roadless Rule since the first attacks under the Bush/Cheney administration. Meet the attorneys who have worked to protect the Roadless Rule:

Earthjustice Attorney Jim Angell:"This sense of being part of a world in which I was not a master, but merely a small and transitory part, was exhilarating and, in the end, life-transforming for me." (Learn more.)

Earthjustice Attorney Kristen Boyles:"I have been awed … by the dedication and passion of so many people who attend meetings, write letters, submit comments, and work tirelessly to protect the wonder and resilience of our natural world. Earthjustice lets me bring that spirit and those voices into the courtroom, and I can think of no job more worth doing or one that I'd rather do." (Learn more.)

Earthjustice Attorney Tim Preso:"It is only through the efforts of past generations that we can enjoy today the great natural bounty of wildness that remains in the Yellowstone ecosystem. Now it is my work—and our generation's responsibility—to make sure that natural bounty is passed on to the next generation." (Learn more.)

Earthjustice Attorney Doug Honnold:"Every time I reflect on what I do for a living, it makes me proud to be an American and proud to be working full-time trying to protect grizzly bears, wolves, bison, native trout, wolverines, and all the majesty that still resides in my region in the northern Rockies." (Learn more.)

Earthjustice Attorney Todd True:"The measure of the work is not in the number of cases filed or the lawsuits won. It's in the rivers and forest and wildlife that are still there, the changes that have been made and that are still to come, and the opportunity to do even more." (Learn more.)

March 25, 2013	The D.C. District Court ended a challenge by the state of Alaska against the Roadless Rule. The case was the final litigation challenging the rule nationwide. The court held that no further challenges are allowed.
October 1, 2012	The U.S. Supreme Court denies a request by the State of Wyoming to review the legality of the Roadless Rule. Of the decision, attorney Kristen Boyles said: "With the Supreme Court’s denial of Wyoming’s petition for review, there should no longer be any question about the Roadless Rule’s legality."
February 16, 2012	The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals rejects a request from the State of Wyoming and the Colorado Mining Association asking for another hearing on their case against the Roadless Rule.

October 21, 2011	Landmark Victory! The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals reverses Wyoming district court, upholding the Roadless Rule and vacating the prior injunction.

June 20, 2011	The State of Alaska challenges the application of the Roadless Rule to national forests in Alaska.

March 4, 2011	Alaska district court vacates the 2003 Tongass exemption and reinstates the Roadless Rule on the Tongass.

January 29, 2011	Idaho district court upholds the Idaho Roadless Rule.

August 5, 2009	The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed protection for over 40 million acres of wild national forests and grasslands from new road building, logging, and development.

October 16, 2008	Forest Service adopts less protective Idaho Roadless Rule.

August 12, 2008	Judge Brimmer reissues his moratorium declaring the Roadless Rule illegal throughout the country.

September 20, 2006	Judge Elizabeth Laporte in San Francisco declares the petitions rule illegal and reinstates the Roadless Rule nationwide, except for the Tongass National Forest in Alaska.

May 5, 2005	Bush administration puts the state petitions rule into place as a substitute for the Roadless Rule.

December 30 2003	Bush administration “temporarily” exempts the Tongass National Forest in Alaska from the Roadless Rule.

July 14, 2003	Judge Clarence Brimmer in Wyoming enjoins the rule nationwide.

December 12, 2002	Ninth Circuit dissolves Judge Lodge's injunction.

May 10, 2001	Judge Edward Lodge in Idaho enjoins the rule nationwide.

January 20, 2001	George W. Bush is sworn in as president; Andrew Card, White House chief of staff, directs cabinet secretaries to freeze any new rules that haven't gone into effect, including the Roadless Rule.

January 12, 2001	The Roadless Rule is published in the Federal Register.

January 22, 1998	Chief of the United States Forest Service Mike Dombeck imposes an 18-month moratorium on most road building on inventoried roadless areas on the national forests.

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