Cases

Protecting the Bitterroot National Forest

Some of the wildest landscapes in the continental United States are located in Montana's Bitterroot National Forest.

Attorneys

Timothy Preso

Regional Office / Program

Northern Rockies Office

Case Overview

In a series of court cases over more than a decade, Earthjustice and our clients have worked to protect wilderness-quality lands within Montana’s Bitterroot National Forest against a rising tide of motorized and mechanized backcountry use, and from massive timber sales.

Bitterroot Mountains
Bitterroot Valley Near Florence, MT. (U.S. Forest Service )

Case Updates

October 27, 2020 document

DECISION: 9th Circuit Upholds Protections for Wild Lands in Bitterroot National Forest

Ruling affirms protections for some of wildest landscapes in continental United States

Bitterroot Mountains
October 27, 2020 Press Release: Victory

9th Circuit Upholds Protections for Wild Lands in Bitterroot National Forest

Ruling affirms protections for some of wildest landscapes in continental United States

July 2, 2018 document

Travel Plan for the Bitterroot National Forest Decision

This declaratory judgment action seeks injunctive relief from the Bitterroot Travel Plan. The Bitterroot Forest lies in the Forest Service's Northern Region, or "Region l," and includes about 1.6 million acres located in west central Montana and a small portion of east central Idaho. Within the forest's boundaries are the Sapphire and Bluejoint Wilderness Study Areas and the Selway-Bitterroot and Bluejoint Recommended Wilderness Areas. Popular recreation activities in the Bitterroot include boating, fishing, hunting, gathering forest products, skiing, hiking, mountain...

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Case page created on October 27, 2020.